


Supernova

by Kris675



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Be gentle with me it's my first Fallout fic, Blood and Violence, Canon Backstory, Canon-Typical Violence, Chronic Pain, Developing Friendships, Drug Abuse, Drug Use, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fallout, Fantasizing, Fast burn?, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Goodneighbor (Fallout), Hancock - Freeform, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, Intimacy, Just a short project, Masturbation, Masturbation Interruptus, NEW TAGS:, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Recreational Drug Use, Spicy, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Trans Character, Trans Female Character, Violence, hancock's han cock, we're getting spicy now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:54:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 41,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24924214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kris675/pseuds/Kris675
Summary: Nova has to take on the Commonwealth wrought with the guilt of losing her son. Hancock has spent his entire life in pain. Can the two of them share the burdens of the hellscape that once was Boston?Violence, eventual smut, lots of comfort.
Relationships: John Hancock & Nick Valentine, John Hancock (Fallout)/Original Character(s), John Hancock (Fallout)/Original Female Character(s), John Hancock (Fallout)/Reader, John Hancock/Female Sole Survivor, John Hancock/Sole Survivor (Fallout), Sole Survivor & Nick Valentine
Comments: 14
Kudos: 42





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please be gentle with me, as this is my first Fallout fic. It's not groundbreaking or anything, just mostly cannon stuff with some unique character development here and there. Eventual smut. I would love feedback on this.  
> If you like my work, come find me on tumblr:  
> https://river675.tumblr.com/

A blanket of heavy fog overwhelmed the Commonwealth, so much so that Nova couldn't even see the gun she held out cautiously in front of her. She was in bad shape, a bullet wound in her hip and gashes along her thigh caused her to limp along, her head beginning to feel fuzzy from the blood loss. Dogmeat whimpered as he stayed close to her side, letting her lean on his back to stay upright. She mentally berated herself, she knew that what she was looking for wasn't too far off, she had to make it. She had to.

Like a lighthouse leading a ship to shore, the soft glow of neon lights told her she had made it someplace safe. Approaching the sign she let out a sigh of relief, finally making it to Goodneighbor. Nova had made it there alive on spite alone, and she whispered curses at the dead super mutants that put her in this position in the first place. Now, to find someplace safe to sleep and stitch herself up. A portion of the city had been walled off from the rest, providing enough protection from the raiders on the outside. It wasn't anything like Diamond City, but Nova felt safe enough entering.

Well, at first.

"Hey, hold up there."

Nova stopped just as she entered the door, gripping the handle tightly, her other hand still clutching Dogmeat's back for support.

"First time in Goodneighbor? Can't go walking around without... Insurance." A man said as he stood, almost guarding the entrance to the town. His silhouette was just visible through the fog, the burning end of the cigarette he smoked lighting up his face.

"Insurance?" Nova heard herself say indignantly, her voice cracking. She considered for a moment pulling her gun on him and shooting the man where he stood, but she had to reconsider, as she didn't want her first impression on a new settlement to be hostile. Not that this guy was making it easy for her.

"That's right, insurance. Personal protection, like, you hand over everything you got in them pockets, or "accidents" start happenin' to ya. Big, bloody, "accidents"." The man had a wicked smirk on his face, and Nova grit her teeth. She was too tired to deal with this.

"Woah, woah, woah. Time out." A voice in the distance caught their attention. Though a back alley walked a tall silhouette, and Nova could just barely make out the red color of his coat and the outline of his hat. His voice almost purred as he sauntered over, making himself known with his loud bootsteps. The stranger stopped and turned, regarding the hostile man head-on. "Someone steps through the gate the first time, they're a guest. You lay off that extortion crap." Nova could have hugged the stranger just then.

"What d'you care? She ain't one of us."

"No love for your mayor, Finn? I said let her go."

"You're soft, Hancock," Finn said, taking a step towards the apparent mayor. He sneered and flicked his cigarette onto the chest of Hancock, and you could almost hear him let out a low growl. "You keep letting outsiders walk all over us, one day there'll be a new mayor."

"Come on, man. This is me we're talking about." Hancock said far too casually. He took a step towards Finn, reaching his hand out towards the man's shoulder. "Let me tell you something..." Nova watched as Finn's eyes darted towards the hand on his shoulder. Suddenly, a glint of light shone off a knife in Hancock's other hand. Hancock stabbed Finn twice in the chest, the sound of flesh ripping and metal scraping off of bone echoed in Nova's head and she winced.

"Now why'd you have to go and say that, huh?" Hancock whispered into the dying man's ear as he slumped over and hit the ground hard. "Breaking my heart over here." He leaned down and wiped the blood off the knife on Finn's jacket before tucking the knife back into his pocket.

"You alright, sister?" Hancock's voice pulled Nova from her daze, the shock of watching him kill Finn had worn off quickly, though it worried her with how comfortable she had become with death.

"I'm fine, thanks..." Nova said. She took a weak step forward, trying to get a better look at Hancock through the fog, and she instantly regretted it. His face was misshapen and scarred, and she must have let her shock show because he let out a low chuckle at her.

"Yeah, I get that reaction a lot. I know, I'm a real hit with the ladies." He mused. "Though get that fear outta the way now, there's a lot of walking rad freaks like me around here, so you might wanna keep reactions like that to yourself." He didn't sound mad, just making a point. "Now, don't let this incident here taint your view of our little community," Hancock said, gesturing towards Finn's body. "Goodneighbor's of the people, for the people, you feel me? Everyone's welcome."

"Yeah, I feel ya."

"Good. You stay cool, and you'll be part of the neighborhood. So long as you remember who's in charge." Hancock leaned in closer to say that last part, his voice going almost dangerously quiet. She locked her green eyes to his deep black ones, and her heart thumped in her chest. Though she couldn't be sure if that was from his intimidating tone or her own blood loss.

"Got it," Nova's voice was getting weak now. She could feel herself grow cold out here in the night air, and she knew she wouldn't last much longer. "Listen, is there someplace safe I can stay? Just to spend the night." Hancock smirked at her, and she could tell he wanted to say something witty in response. His eyes strayed downwards at her body, the blue vault suit she wore standing out through the fog, fitting a little too snugly to her curves. Though instead of eyeing her up, his gaze stopped at the bloodstain at her side that grew ever larger. Whatever inappropriate comment he was about to make died on his lips.

"Hit up Hotel Rexford," Hancock said, looking back up towards her eyes. "It's right 'round the block. Just follow the neon signs." He pointed his thumb over his shoulder, down an alleyway.

"Thank you," Nova said, her mouth beginning to feel uncomfortably dry. With that, she took her leave, stepping over Finn's body and making a beeline towards the alley. She still clung to the scruff around Dogmeat's neck, her protective friend leading her through the night to safety.

~

Hancock watched her go, staring at the vault dweller in mild fascination. If she weren't about to bleed out on the street he'd insist he give her a bed to spend the night. With his company, of course. Instead, he let her walk, or rather limp away. Though despite everything, he didn't stop himself from getting a nice look at her ass as she faded from view.

"What's that look for?" Fahrenheit, his bodyguard, asked as she walked up from behind.

"Nothin'," Hancock said with a lilt in his voice.

Fahrenheit scoffed. "Whatever," She said before heading off into the old statehouse. Hancock lingered in the street, his mind still wrapped around the image of that vault girl with too green eyes and an ass he'd like to lose himself in. He'd have to find her again before she left.

~

The hotel wasn't anything special compared to the ones Nova stayed in back before the war. But now, 200 years later, the Rexford Hotel was a sanctuary all on its own, and she was more than thankful to be here. She got odd looks from the other guests at the hotel as she made her way up the stairs, trying and failing to not bleed on the floor on her way to her room. Once she was finally behind a closed and locked door, she nearly collapsed.

Nova summoned the last of her strength and pulled herself into the bed. It was nothing more than a bare mattress caked in dirt, but it was the best thing she'd find in the wasteland. Slowly she peeled off her vault suit and tossed it to the floor, her limbs heavy. She grabbed a medkit that she found in one of the dilapidated houses from her old neighborhood in Sanctuary. Inside she found antiseptic, pouring it generously on her wounds. Unfortunately, it wasn't the stuff with painkillers, and her vision went white from the pain of it all.

Still, she had to continue. She grabbed bandages and patched up the hole in her waist. Luckily the bullet just grazed her, poking a hole through the fat on her stomach but not hitting anything major. The scratches on her leg though were a different story. She would have to stitch those up herself. She had the needle and thread but would have to do it with her own shaky hands. The process was painfully long, and she could feel every puncture of her skin as she sewed her own leg shut. By the time she was done, the mattress beneath her was coated with sticky blood. She secretly hoped they wouldn't make her have to pay to clean this, as she was now out of caps.

Laying back, Nova knew she would never get to sleep in so much pain, so reluctantly, she grabbed the Med-X. This stuff existed before the war and she knew how addictive it could become to soldiers that used it regularly. Though she knew taking just one hit wouldn't suddenly make her an addict, she was still wary of taking some whenever she found it. Now, her entire body wracked with pain and full of stitches, she didn't leave herself much of a choice.

Nova took the syringe out of her bag and pressed it into her arm. The moment she pushed down on the plunger she could feel the liquid enter her veins and almost immediately alleviate her pain. It almost felt pleasurable, finally getting the much-needed relief. She tossed the used syringe onto the dresser and stood up, slowly pulling her vault suit back on. She flipped the mattress over so she wouldn't be sleeping in a pool of her own blood, and climbed back into bed. Her eyes instantly closed the moment she was down, and she almost fell asleep right away, were it not for Dogmeat jumping onto the bed on top of her. Gingerly, he laid down onto the side of her body without the stitches, leaning his head on her chest.

Nova ran her fingers through the hair on Dogmeat's neck and then was out like a light.

~~~

Nova didn't know how long she had been asleep for, but she woke up to Dogmeat standing on the bed and pawing at her arm. He was whining at her, his bladder probably ready to explode. She sat up and instantly regretted it, her body feeling like it was made out of lead. She wanted nothing more than to lay back down and go back to sleep, but she knew she couldn't do that to Dogmeat.

After pulling her boots on and grabbing her bags, Nova bid farewell to the comfortable bedroom and made her way out of the hotel. The moment Dogmeat got outside he ran towards the nearest light post and immediately relieved himself there. The sun was high in the sky at that point and far too bright for Nova's taste. Her body still throbbed with dull pain and she briefly considered taking more Med-X before shooting the idea down. Instead, she settled with just a cigarette, lighting it with a trembling hand.

A familiar raspy voice caught Nova's attention. She spotted a few of the town's people make their way over to a small clearing just under a balcony. She caught a glimpse of the familiar red coat and ancient hat he wore as Hancock stood on the balcony addressing his citizens. Nova stayed a ways away, leaning against the wall of a neighboring building, listening in to whatever he was going on about. Something about the Institute.

She'd been hearing about the Institute a lot lately... 

Piper made mention of them back in Diamond City, suspected that maybe they were the ones that took her son. A shady group that had been suspected in hundreds of kidnappings over the years? Piper was probably right, but to be absolutely sure, Nova needed to find someone to help her look into this mess. That someone was Nick Valentine. Unfortunately for Nova, she had to find him too...

"Of the people, for the people." The loud chant snapped Nova from her thoughts as she was brought back to her nightmarish reality. The people around her began dispersing from the area, apparently, Hancock's speech was over now. She looked up just in time to see Hancock turn and walk back through the door into the statehouse. Nova wondered to herself if maybe he could possibly help her. She would be able to speak to him in confidence, right? With what he did for her the night before, she could probably trust him. Maybe.

Nova dropped her cigarette butt on the sidewalk and stamped it out with her heel before lighting another. She made her way over to the statehouse and whistled for Dogmeat to follow. Stepping inside, it took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkened interior. Whatever light there was in the building didn't travel far, and the long shadows in the corridors made it less than inviting.

A couple of Ghouls stood guard, armed to the teeth, but nonhostile. She was about to ask where she could find Hancock, but instead, he found her first.

"Well you're lookin' better since last I saw ya," Hancock appeared from the top of the spiral staircase in the middle of the building. He leaned over the railing and she could see the smirk on his face, as well as the deep shadows along his mangled flesh.

"Feeling better too," She said, absentmindedly running her fingers through Dogmeat's fur. "Thanks again for your help, by the way. Really. Although, I got a couple questions if you're willing to entertain me for a bit."

"I got time," He said rather matter of factly and pushed back off the railing. He beckoned her to follow him up the stairs. She hesitated for just a moment before finally following.

Further into the statehouse were large rooms adjacent from one another. Hancock lead her into one that held a couple of couches, what looked like a makeshift kitchenette, and a coffee table covered in assorted drugs. Also in the room was a woman, and although she was leaning casually against a table at the far end of the room, she looked anything but comforting. She wore full armor, had her guns on display. She glanced at Nova, giving her a full once over with her eyes and crossed her arms. She must have been another one of Hancock's bodyguard. He seemed to have plenty of those.

"Sit," Hancock half offered and half ordered. He made himself comfortable on one of the couches, letting his arms rest against the back of the couch and kicking his boots up onto the table. Nova made herself comfortable across from him, keeping her guard up while there, still not fully trusting of Hancock, though he was her best chance of getting help at that moment. "So," Hancock tilted his head back and regarded her with a smile. "You said you had questions? Go ahead, sister. I'm all ears. Or, whatever's left of them, anyway."

The light hit him different here, and for the first time, Nova finally got a clear look at his face. He looked like a corpse, not unlike the feral Ghouls she had to fend off time and time again. Hancock's black eyes were sunken back far into his skull, his nose nothing more than a crater in the center of his face. His lips were stretched back into a smile, light reflecting off of dull teeth. Nova thought he looked like a nightmare, but she couldn't let that show on her face again. Instead, she purposely took a long drag of her cigarette as she stared him down.

Nova formed an 'o' with her lips and exhaled a thick trail of smoke. She could tell Hancock's eyes were fixated on her lips. "I'm looking for someone. Several people, in fact..." She started saying and paused to bite down on the inside of her cheek. Thinking for just a moment, Nova decided she might as well get to the point and tell the whole story. "My son's been kidnapped, and I've been looking for him."

Hancock's demeanor shifted at that, his smile fading as he realized the gravity of her situation.

"His name is Shaun, he's just a baby, not even a year old." Nova continued on. "I've been searching for him for some time now. I was told someone in Diamond City could help me. Name's Nick Valentine."

Hancock's smile came back when she said that name. "That old rust bucket? He's a real one, let me tell you what. I've known him for a while. If anyone can help ya, it's him."

"Yeah, well, he's missing too," Nova said flatly, leaning back and finally getting more comfortable.

"No shit."

"Yeah. That's why I need your help. I talked to Valentine's secretary and she says he disappeared about two weeks ago. Said he was looking into this Skinny Malone character."

"Well, least we know he's still alive," Hancock said and noticed Nova's eyebrow cock curiously. "Despite the bad blood between them, he's still got respect for the guy. If anything he's holding ole' Nick hostage to try and teach him a lesson or something."

"Are you sure about that?" Nova leaned forward, leaning her elbows on her knees.

"Almost positive." He shrugged.

"What else can you tell me about Malone?"

"I don't think you really know what you're asking," Hancock said with a sudden flatness in his tone. He pulled his shoes off the table and sat up straighter. "Malone's a resident of Goodneighbor. As Mayor, I have a duty to protect my people..." He trailed off, a small smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth.

Nova grit her teeth. She wanted to yell at him, to scream and demand he help her. Remind him that her child's life was at stake. But... She didn't. She took another drag of her cigarette and felt Dogmeat's wet nose nudge into her hand. He must have realized she was becoming angry so he did his best to defuse the situation. Nova took a deep breath before looking back at Hancock.

"Please," She nearly pleaded with him. "Nick Valentine is the only one who could help me find my son..."

Hancock's eyes drifted over towards the woman who stood in position in the corner of the room. They shared a look before he turned back to Nova.

"Information like this doesn't come cheap, you know," Hancock said, not even bothering to hide his smirk now. Nova was beginning to dread asking him for help. She had no caps left to her name, and she didn't even want to begin to think of any of the things he may ask of her... "What say we trade? Info for info."

"Hm?" Nova was a little taken off guard by this, and Hancock chuckled at the surprise on her face.

"I've been hearing rumors of this place not too far away called the Pickman Gallery. I've been meaning to send someone to check it out, but-"

"Deal." Nova sat back and crossed her arms. She answered so quickly that now it was Hancock's turn to look surprised.

"I haven't given you any details yet."

"Doesn't matter. I need your help, Hancock."

"Alright then..." He looked almost impressed with her. "Skinny Malone's got guys. Lots of 'em. They're hiding out in an old vault converted from subway tunnels near the park just a block away from Goodneighbor. They're probably all armed to the teeth, so be careful."

"Thank you," Nova said, genuinely thankful for his help.

"Don't forget. Info for info. I wanna know what's going on at Pickman Gallery. Just be careful, that's usually rader territory. Recently they've gone quiet. Like, uncomfortable post-coitus quiet and I wanna know why."

"No problem," Nova said as she put out her cigarette in the ashtray on the table. "I was able to take down that horde of super mutants the other day all by myself, raiders are no problem." She stood up and fixed the belt along her waist.

Hancock shared another look with his bodyguard and quickly stood up as well. Just as she was about to leave, Dogmeat trotted over to where Hancock stood and sniffed at him. Nova watched Dogmeat carefully inspect him, trusting that dog's judgment of people more than herself.

"You keep her safe out there, will ya?" Hancock said to Dogmeat and held his hand out to pet him. The dog sniffed at Hancock's hand, pausing for just a moment, and then sneezed twice. He shook his head and then looked back up at Hancock, his tongue hanging out, a large smile on his face. Hancock chuckled at the dog and gave him a scratch behind the ears.

"Come on, boy," Nova called over to Dogmeat, who obediently followed at her heels. She made her way out of the room, trying to hide the smile creeping up on her lips. Maybe that Mayor wasn't so much of a bag guy...

~~~

Hancock really wasn't kidding when he said Malone's men were armed to the teeth.

Nova snuck her way around the old subway station, doing her best to pick off the gangsters one by one, trying not to become overwhelmed by the barrage of gunfire. Every single one of them had automatic weapons, which sucked tremendously for her. Nova had made the call to let Dogmeat hang back for a while, in fear of him being hit by a stray bullet. Though on more than one occasion he refused to stay behind and ended up saving her life. She promised herself to never go anywhere without that dog. Ever.

As Nova finally made it to the room where Nick was being held, relief started flooding over her. The detective was locked away in a back office, a small window looking into a dimly lit room. After taking care of the guard that had been antagonizing Nick, she peeked into the window and saw just a silhouette of a man there, with the trenchcoat and hat his secretary said he'd be wearing. 

"Are you Nick Valentine?" Nova asked from her side of the window.

"Of course I am," Nick said. "Now I don't know who you are, but we've got three minutes before they realize muscles for brains ain't coming back. Get this door open!"

She hurried over to the terminal nearby and started typing away. If there's anything useful she learned from her days in the army, it was how to hack through the computers to get information. In almost no time at all she had made her way in and unlocked the door, the room automatically opening up and letting the detective free.

"You gotta love the irony of the reverse damsel-in-distress scenario," Nick said as Nova walked in to greet him. "Question is, why did our heroine risk life and limb for an old private eye?" As she walked closer, she opened her mouth to speak, and at the same time, he flipped on a lighter to light his cigarette.

Nova couldn't stop herself from gasping when she saw Nick's face. He was deathly pale, and what looked like synthetic skin was peeling off his face, revealing wires and metal parts underneath. One of his hands was nothing more than just an exoskeleton, sharp and dangerous fingers holding the cigarette up to his plastic lips. His eyes shocked her most of all, yellow halos of light that bore straight into her.

"Look, I know the skin and the metal parts ain't comforting right now, but pull yourself together," Nick said, rolling his eyes at her reaction to him. She probably wasn't the only one to react so badly. "Go on and get to the point. Why'd you come here?"

"Sorry," Nova said shortly, biting the inside of her cheek hard enough to hurt. "I, uh... My baby's missing... His name's Shaun. He was kidnapped, but I don't know who took him or where they went."

"Missing kid, huh? Well, you came to the right man. If not the right place." Nick Valentine flicked his cigarette off into the corner of the room and fixed the collar of his jacket. "Well, now ain't the time for that. Let's get outta here, then we'll talk."

~

"Ah, look at that Commonwealth sky." Once free of the subway tunnels turned vault, Nova watched as Nick had his head turned skyward, eyes half-closed and a small smile forming at the corner of his mouth. She helped Dogmeat up the ladder and out of the tunnel, then stepped over to where Nick stood looking quite content. Once he noticed her staring, he cleared his throat and pulled out his cigarette and lighter. "Never thought anything so naturally ominous could end up looking so inviting." Nova pulled out her own cigarette from a back pocket, and Nick politely lit it for her. "Thanks for getting me out. How did you know where to find me, anyway? Not many people knew where I went..."

"Your secretary, Elli, she sent me," Nova said after taking a drag.

"She did? I should give her a raise."

"And Hancock," Nova added, and she watched Nick's brow arch. "He told me where the hideout was, lent me a hand, told me what I should expect."

"Probably also muscled you into doing him a favor, too." Nick leaned back on his heels, one hand in his pocket, looking down at her.

"You're damn right. I'm supposed to go check something out for him, now."

"After you're done playing errand-girl for Hancock, I want you to come to my office in Diamond City. Give me all the details about your missing son, Shaun. Besides, I think you've earned a chance to sit down and clear your head."

"Thank you, Nick."

"And thank you. I'll see you in Diamond City."

~~~

Lying back on the couch, his hands behind his head, feet kicked up, hat fallen to the floor, Hancock didn't have a care in the world. He had been lazing around the entire day strung out on mentats, letting the high drift him off into peaceful oblivion.

Living life as a Ghoul had been tough on him, and a lot more painful than he first thought. His entire body was wracked with pain all hours of the day. He used the drugs to deal with it, and it made life somewhat easier. He was always chasing that next high, craving the euphoric feeling when the pain finally drifted away and he was able to relax, or very rarely, sleep.

Now, as the night had drawn on, the pain was coming back to him. That good high he always got from the mentats was beginning to fade, the chemical taste of grape still lingering on his tongue. His mind was still in a bit of a fog, but he could make out the sounds of heavy footsteps he didn't recognize creaking along the floorboards of the old statehouse. He heard them enter the room, but Hancock really didn't want to have to deal with anyone new. He stayed silent, waiting for whoever it was to go away and leave him alone, but he suddenly felt a piece of paper flutter down onto his chest.

Hancock picked up the paper, seeing just the words "Thanks, killer." And a heart drawn in blood. He finally picked up his head to see the woman from before, the vault girl. He didn't remember her name. Did she tell him her name? He wasn't sure, but he wasn't going to ask now. She looked tired and disheveled, almost as if she was about to pass out. She didn't say anything to him, just standing there with her hand on her hip, giving Hancock a flat look, her ever-loyal dog sitting right at her side.

Hancock finally kicked his legs out and sat up, leaning his elbow against the back of the couch and smiled up at her. "How's my little scout doing? You find out what's happening at Pickman Gallery?"

"How do I even start?" The vault girl wiped her hand across her face, smearing sweat and dirt around. "Do you even know why they called it the Pickman Gallery?"

"No... That was the point of the whole job, remember? What are you trying to say?" As he spoke, he suddenly felt a dull throbbing of pain in his head, causing his neck to stiffen up. He may have sounded a bit harsher than he intended.

"It was fucking awful." She crossed her arms over her body, looking entirely too uncomfortable for his tastes. "Pickman is a serial killer. He was using dead bodies for his... Art."

"Woah... Seriously? That's messed up... Even for this town..." Now Hancock understood why she looked the way she did. "I'll put the word out to avoid that place." Hancock clicked his teeth together, the unsettling taste in his mouth when he found out such grim news really put a downer on his night. The headache was starting to come on heavy now, and he just wanted to lay down.

But... The vault girl was still just standing there.

"Uh... Thanks again, kid. You've been real helpful." Hancock was beginning to feel kind of awkward now.

"Yeah, no problem..." She just stood there, her hands clasped together as her fingers fiddled with themselves. She looked down at the floor and made a small noise with her mouth as if she was sucking on the inside of her cheek.

"So, uh... What else did you need?" He finally asked, started to get impatient, wanting her to just leave already.

"Are you... Seriously not going to pay me?"

Something in Hancock's brain clicked, and he realized why she was sticking around. "Are you kiddin' me?" Did she seriously have the audacity to be asking him for money after he went and ratted out one of his own? His head throbbed, his patience wearing thin. "We had a deal already. Info for info. I helped you out with Skinny Malone, this is how you repay me. You dig?"

"What the fuck, dude?" She suddenly raised her voice a bit too loud for his tastes, and his head throbbed. "You sent me to investigate a _serial_ _killer_. I just crawled out of the abyss. You don't think that's worth _something_?"

"It _is_ worth something. But you already got your payment upfront."

"Aw come on, Hancock. I went and risked my life to rescue a detective to help me find my son and now I don't even have any money to pay him?" Her fists were clenched and her voice was beginning to sound strained, desperate. Though he doubted Nick would charge her for his services after she went and did that for him. He wasn't going to tell her that, though, not since she had started yelling. She was being rather rude.

"I've heard enough. Go take your sob story about your lost baby somewhere else. I'm tired..." With that, he leaned back and lied down on the couch. He fished his hat off the ground and plopped it over his face, blocking out the light and his view of the vault girl.

He heard her growl and storm off with a huff, her boots creaking loudly against the old wooden floors. He was beginning to feel kinda bad about shrugging her off like that. Maybe he should have paid her. But, his head was hurting too much and he wasn't thinking clearly. He doubted he'd ever see what's-her-name ever again, though, so he didn't let it bother him too much.

"Looking for work, huh?" Hancock heard one of his watchmen downstairs talking to the vault girl. "I heard ole' Bobbi No-Nose is looking for some good men. She might be able to help ya out." After he heard that, the tension in Hancock's shoulders began to lift. 

See? She'll be fine.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got some cannon divergence and a new OC in this. Most of this chapter has nothing to do with plot, just some ideas that popped into my head. Feedback is welcome. Thank you!

Nova was absolutely done with crawling through these disgusting, damp subway tunnels. She had taken a job with Bobbi No-Nose out of necessity. Being out of caps was rough, and making them back was even more so. After being attacked by Mirelurks and feral ghouls, getting hit with enough radiation to make her stomach turn, and getting a good coating of dirt on the inside of her lungs from all the digging, Nova was just about ready to turn and leave before they finally reached their destination. Bobbi's hired man Mel made short work with getting them into the store room supposedly in Diamond City, but he quietly made mention that he was suspicious of Bobbi's true intentions. If Nova got double-crossed by her she swore she would put a bullet in the Ghoul woman's head.

"Shit."

Nova was the last one to enter the room and that was the first thing she heard. She grit her teeth and pulled her gun in self-defense, keeping her finger near the trigger as she approached. Inside the room, Bobbi and Mel looked sheepishly up at heavily armed woman standing on a catwalk in the warehouse and what looked to be a couple of people in full hazmat suits. It was the same woman Nova had seen before, Hancock's bodyguard. What the hell was going on?

"You seriously didn't think Hancock would catch wind of your scheme?" The woman said, speaking down to all three of them. "He took you in, Bobbi. And you're stealing from him?"

"Don't listen to her," Bobbi said, trying to act casual, but Nova could see her starting to sweat. "That Fahrenheit is just blowing steam out her ass."

"Alright Bobbi, what's going on? What does this have to do with Hancock?" Nova asked, her finger inching towards the trigger, waiting for a good response.

"Yeah, about that. As Mel guessed, this isn't the Diamond City strongroom."

"Yeah, no shit."

"I see the rest of you are in the dark about this," Fahrenheit spoke up, casually leaning against a wall, though she looked like she was ready for a fight if need be. "Nice, No-Nose. You all just broke into Hancock's storeroom."

"Dammit, Bobbi," Mel spoke up.

"Listen, guys," Bobbi started. "I know this isn't what you expected. But there are still a ton of caps on the line here. Help me take her out and all of it is ours."

"This is Hancock we're ripping off here," Said Mel. "The guy tends to hold grudges."

"Counteroffer," Fahrenheit called down to them. "Just go back into your tunnel and we can forget this ever happened. What do you say?"

Nova wanted to scream. She had been through so much and she was just so tired. Squeezing her eyes closed tight and biting her cheek, she finally took a breath and turned towards Bobbi.

"Come on, Bobbi, at least if you leave now, you leave with your life." She spoke in a rather dark tone. Nova had had it by this point, but she wasn't going to kill Bobbi for being greedy. There was some part of her that really wanted to just shoot up the place and take the caps for herself, but there was no way she could actually bring herself to do it. She still had to face the consequences of this new and dangerous world. Despite Hancock being an ass, he wasn't a completely bad person, and she still needed help finding her son. Best not to burn bridges, with how few there were in this wasteland.

"Well shit." Bobbi almost growled, realizing Nova had double-crossed her instead. "Fine, I know when I'm outmatched. Come on, Mel lets go."

"Thank god."

As the two of them skulked back down into the tunnels, Nova heard the two of them bickering about what had happened. She wanted to let the two get a head start before she followed, not wanting to even look at Bobbi right now. Just as Nova was about to leave, she heard the sound of Fahrenheit jump down from the catwalk and approach.

"You made the right move."

"Hey, how did you find us, anyway?" Nova asked.

"If you think Hancock doesn't know about everything that happens in his territory, you're mistaken. You _have_ to know you guys weren't exactly silent down there."

"Sorry to cause you trouble," Nova said, sliding her hand through her hair. "Despite what happened last time, there's no way I'd stab Hancock in the back like that."

"He'd appreciate the sentiment," Fahrenheit smirked. "Also, he'd get that this was all a misunderstanding. You didn't know what you were doing. Here, go ahead and take this. A token for doing the right thing." She pointed her thumb towards a box off to the side, the top cracked open already. Nova walked over and peeked inside, her eyes going wide at the sheer size of the gun.

"The fuck is this?" Nova couldn't stop the grin forming on her face as she picked it up, the weight of it causing her tired muscles to strain.

"Ashmaker," Fahrenheit said simply. "Treat her well, will you?" Nova looked the gun over thoroughly before turning back to the woman.

"Thanks. This'll definitely come in handy."

"You should go pay your respect to Hancock in person. He'd be happy to hear about your loyalty. It's always best to stay on his good side. Trust me."

~

Nova decided to stop by Goodneighbor again before heading to Diamond City. She figured she better take Fahrenheit's advice and go see Hancock before meeting with Nick again. It wasn't too far out of the way, and she would at least give Nick another day of rest before helping her with her own issues. She was lucky the weather was holding up. The sky earlier had looked like rain, but now it had turned to sunshine and a cool wind. Winter would be approaching soon, and although her vault suit kept her warm enough, for now, she was going to have more to worry about once the snow started falling.

After asking around in Goodneighbor where she could find Hancock, she was directed back to the statehouse and up into an office she hadn't been in before. From the hallway she could see him waiting for her, arms crossed and back leaning against the wall. Even from a distance, she could see his smirking face. Dogmeat was the first to approach him, the canine happily trotting over and sniffing Hancock's hand before gladly accepting a couple of scratches behind the ear.

"Well, if it ain't Bobbi's little patsy..." Hancock said as Nova approached, his eyes glancing down at her. Without thinking, Nova pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and bit down, not quite knowing if he was going to be mad with her or not. To her surprise, Hancock pulled a small bag of caps from his pocket and tossed them over to her. She caught the bag, and upon looking inside, there must have at least been five hundred caps in there. When she looked back up at him with big, round eyes, he was smiling. "For protecting my stache. Wise decision, turning on Bobbi like that."

"So... We're cool?" Nova asked, still looking at him warily.

"We are. Listen, I been meaning to tell ya..." Nova watched as his demeanor shifted. Hancock reached up and pushed his hat back so she could get a better look at his dark eyes. He stared her down, and she once again bit her lip. "This classy little tricorner hat of mine is getting heavy. Am I turning into the man? Some kind of tyrant? I spend all my time putting down the people I would have been proud to scheme with just a few years ago. I need to take a walk again. Get a grip on what really matters: Living free."

"Can you just leave Goodneighbor? Aren't you the mayor?"

"Hey, the mayor's still the mayor, whether he's "in residence" or not. I've walked out of here plenty of times. Keeps me honest. Can't let power get to my head. That's not what being in charge of Goodneighbor is about."

All of a sudden, Nova realized what this was. An invitation, he was asking to go with her... Her face contorted for a moment, first in realization, then confusion. Why would he want to leave his city and go traveling with her? They hadn't known each other long, did he trust her? Well, she did just prove herself with her little stunt with Bobbi. Yet, here he was, giving her the option to ask him to come with or refuse, letting him go about his business on his own. The choice was her to make, the power in her hands.

"Seriously kid, you're really gonna have to work on your poker face." Hancock chuckled at her, his arms crossed tight over his chest once again.

"Listen, Hancock, I'm looking for my son. You don't wanna come with me... It'll probably be dangerous for all I know."

"Well, the danger is where all the fun is." He flashed a smile at her, showing his teeth. Though dull and grey, he didn't look as repulsive to her now as she did when they first met. Maybe it was her initial shock when she first saw his face, but he wasn't a monster. In fact, though she hated to admit it, Hancock seemed rather charming. She thought he wouldn't make that bad of a friend to have out there in the world.

"Alright, Hancock. Walk with me." She smiled back at him.

"You might just be the right kinda trouble." Hancock winked at her.

~~~

Nova had intended on heading straight for Diamond City after she and Hancock left Goodneighbor, but of course, things were never easy for her, were they? She, Hancock, and Dogmeat had gotten to the small park near Goodneighbor when they heard distant gunfire. Nova paused, a shiver of fear creeping up her spine, but when she saw how utterly calm Hancock was being, he shrugged.

"Is this a normal everyday occurrence for you?" Nova asked sarcastically.

"Pretty much, yeah." Hancock shoved his hands in the pockets of his red jacket and leaned back onto his heels.

Nova sneered at him. "It feels like a fucking warzone. I hate this."

"You'll learn to ignore it. It's probably just raiders having a little in faction dispute-"

Hancock's words were cut off when a loud boom echoed through the Commonwealth. Dogmeat yelped and the two turned sound of the gunfire. Rising upwards into the sky was a red flare, blindingly bright despite it was the middle of the day. Nova grit her teeth, knowing what that flare meant. Without a word, she took off running towards the gunfire, Dogmeat close at her heels. It took Hancock a moment before he realized what she was doing, but he picked up running right after her.

As Nova got closer, she took cover behind the rubble of a collapsed building. Hancock came sliding up behind her, pressing himself close against the concrete wall as they both looked out through the broken windows at the scene before them. They could see over a dozen raiders focused on one apartment building. Nova noticed a head poking up through the windows to watch the attack, never staying for long in fear of being shot. There were a few corpses on the ground in front of the building, some looking as though they got shot and fell from the upper story windows. She had to help.

"You ready?" Nova asked, turning towards Hancock with a worried look.

"Sister, I was born ready." Hancock gave her a wicked smirk, readying the shotgun he had with him.

They both went in separate directions around the building, taking the raiders from behind, picking off a few of them before the others noticed what was going on. Nova used her pistol to take out a few raiders that were stationed in the buildings nearby. When she ran out of bullets, she dropped the gun to the ground and pulled out another, shooting another raider point-blank before they even realized what was going on. On her own, Nova weaved in between the buildings in the small neighborhood, picking them off one by one.

On Hancock's end, he went screaming, taking down multiple raiders at once with a barrage of gunfire. Dogmeat followed him into the firefight, pouncing on a raider before they were able to shoot at Hancock. When he saw the raider on the ground, he pulled the knife out of his pocket and stabbed the raider that Dogmeat held down for him. He got them in the neck, and they bled out within minutes.

It wasn't long before the neighborhood went quiet, and they met back up in front of the building that was being attacked. Nova took a quick look at Hancock, making sure he wasn't hurt, and she smiled at him. This was the first genuine smile he had seen from her since they met. Her eyes squinted, nose crinkled, and lips pulled back far enough to see her large teeth. Hancock thought it was a good look on her. Dogmeat came running up after, and Nova knelt down to scruff the hair around his neck. He was fine too.

"Hey, you friendlies?" A woman called from the upper floor of the apartment building.

Nova turned and waved at her, both of her hands up in the air. "It's fine! My name is Nova. I'm with the Minute Men."

"You are?" Hancock heard himself ask. Nova turned back to him and gave a short chuckle.

They waited outside and eventually the woman from before appeared at the door of the building, gun in hand, cautiously walking over to them.

"You said your name's Nova?" She asked, staring down her nose at the newcomers.

"Yes, do you know Preston Garvey? He-"

"Well, I'll be damned!" The woman suddenly called out, going from suspicious to jovial in a matter of seconds. "Well 'course I know my own cousin! Preston sent word of what happened to the Minute Men. Said there was a new general, I can't believe that's you." The woman walked over, and Nova could clearly see that she stood about a head taller than even Hancock. Her hair was wild and wirey, dark brown, and peppered with grey. Her eyes shone dark brown at them, and her large smile shown that she was missing a few teeth.

"You can call me Flower. Pleasure to meet you." She held out her hand to shake, and Nova grasped it firmly.

"Same. This here is Hancock."

"The Mayor of Goodneighbor?" Flower asked.

"The one and only." Hancock winked at her.

"Well, you two showed up just in time. I was worried nobody would see that flare this deep in the city. We've been held up in these apartments here for the last couple days. The raiders had us cornered, wouldn't let us go. It's great to finally be free."

"Do you have a place to go?" Nova asked enthusiastically. "Because we have a place, called-"

"Sanctuary!" Flower interrupted her with a grin. "Yeah, that's where we were headed before we got jumped. Listen, we can't head out in the state we're in. Some of our best men got gunned down in the fight. You think you could help us out?"

"Of course," Nova said without hesitation. Hancock liked that.

"Thanks. Come on inside." Flower motioned for the two to follow her into the apartment. Inside was a small sitting area next to a set of stairs and a broken-down elevator. She lead them inside to a back room where there must have been a dozen or so people. There was a mix of elderly people, some children, and two pregnant women. They looked up at the new people warily for a moment, but when Flower motioned for them to stand down, a wave a relief washed over their faces.

"As you can probably imagine, we can't move too quick," Flower said, her hands on her hips as she turned back towards Nova. "But while we were cooped up here, we found a whole-ass set of power armor in the basement. It don't work, but if we can get it to, we can make it all the way to Sanctuary with nothin' to worry about."

"I'll go check it out. Just point the way."

"Right this way," Flower led them down to the basement. It was freezing cold down there, and Nova shuttered as they went. There was a floodlight shining directly on a set of old, rusted power armor. It looked pre-war to Nova, she could tell, but that was a good thing. If it was pre-war, that means she probably knew how to work on it...

"Leave this to me." Nova thrust her thumb into her chest, a prideful look on her face. "I'll get started now. The sooner it's fixed, the sooner we'll all be out."

"Thanks, General." Flower winked at her and gave her a salute. "I'll go check up on the others, you do your thing." With that, Flower turned back up the stairs. Nova hopped to it, taking a good look at the power armor, ignoring Hancock's questioning looks.

"General?" He asked, leaning back against the wall, watching Nova stick her head inside the armor.

"Yeah, it wasn't really my idea..." She answered, her voice echoing off the walls of metal. "Preston insisted I lead the new Minute Men. Said he wasn't cut out for leadership or something."

"Well, you can definitely hold yourself in a fight," Hancock said as he watched the woman work. Dogmeat sat down next to his feet, nudging Hancock's hand with his nose for pets.

"So can you," Nova glanced over at him before diving back into the power armor. After fixing a couple of wires in it's back, she pulled the dead power core from it and fished into her bags for another. She pulled the new, glowing battery out and shoved it into the power armor, grinning as it whirred to life.

"How'd you do that so quick?" Hancock asked.

"Years of training," Nova said simply. She opened up the entire back of the armor and hopped in, taking a few steps around to make sure the joints weren't rusted shut. "You should know I'm full of surprises."

"Yeah, I can tell..." Hancock watched as Nova slowly exited the power armor, but as she was doing so, a loud echo of thunder reverberated around the walls of the basement. Nova lost her footing and fell on her back onto the concrete, getting the wind knocked out of her. Hancock shot forward to her, placing his hand on her shoulder to help her up. "You alright, sister?"

"Yeah," She coughed. "What was that?"

"Probably thunder,"

"Can you go check?" Nova sounded worried. After helping her to her feet, Hancock left her and Dogmeat in the basement while he went upstairs.

It wasn't long before he was back with Flower. "I was right," Hancock called to her, hands dug deep into his pockets.

"That storm came right outta nowhere," Flower said as she approached Nova. "It's too dangerous for us to leave tonight. Y'all wanna stay the night too? We got an extra room if you need."

"Well..." Nova thought hard. She wanted to get to Diamond City, to get to Nick, but Hancock stepped up, shaking his head.

"Yeah, we'll stay. I don't feel like getting waterlogged today." He nodded at Nova who sighed.

"Got your power armor ready to go, though." She spoke and slapped her hand loud against the metal chest piece.

"No shit!" Flower took a good look at the armor and then went straight for it to jump in. Unfortunately, she was too tall to fit, so Nova fussed with it for some time before decided to just take the entire helmet off. This seemed like a good enough fix because then Flower was able to fit just fine.

"Should be good to leave first light," Flower said, stepping out of the armor, looking right pleased. "Here, lemme show you where y'all'll be staying. We can't thank you for this right now, but we definitely will next time we see you, promise."

"Just promise to join up with the Minute Men, that's all I ask for." Nova smiled.

"Yes sir, General," Flower said with a wink.

~

The room wasn't much, but it was big enough and gave Nova and Hancock privacy from the others. Nova rolled out her sleeping bag, kicking her boots off and feeling safe enough to take her gun belt off. Hancock wasn't planning on sleeping, so he made himself comfortable not too far away, getting a good look around the room and taking in his surroundings in case they'd need to make a quick exit. Nova pulled out a can of pork and beans and opened it with a hunting knife. Like a proper lady, she started eating the contents with her hands. Whatever fell onto the floor, Dogmeat was more than happy to clean up.

"You got a real fancy title, don't you, General?" Said Hancock, eyeing up his new partner in crime.

"Yeah, I guess. There aren't too many of them... I mean us, just yet. But we'll get there. Helping out the Minute Men, or leading them now... It's the best way I can think of helping others, you know? The world is such a fucking shit show. I just want to make it easier on some people..." Hancock really felt for her, he had the same philosophy.

"So, tell me more about yourself, Vault Girl." Feeling safe enough where he was, Hancock popped a mentat under his tongue, intending to ride out the next few hours while Nova slept. "You said it yourself, you're full of surprises.

"You first," Nova insisted with a mouth full of beans. "I wanna know about-" She swallowed hard. "-Ghouls. I've actually never met a non-feral Ghoul before."

"So that's the reason why you're always lookin' at me funny." Hancock chuckled, but, he was right. On more than one occasion he found her just staring at his face or his hands. He considered showing her a bit more skin than that, but... That'd have to wait. "I wasn't always a Ghoul, you know." Hancock shot her a look and Nova staired back in surprise. "I'm not like those other pre-war Ghouls. I had myself a smooth set of skin the first time I strolled into Goodneighbor..."

Finished eating, Nova let Dogmeat lick the food off her fingers. "I would have liked to see your face from back then."

Hancock's lips twitched. The hell did she mean by that? He decided not to let that little comment get to him and continue his story.

"Well, back then I was always chasing the next big high, you know? One day I found this little experimental drug... Best high I ever had. I'm living with the consequences of it now, but... I wouldn't go back." He paused and glanced over at Nova who was watching with great interest. "It's not bad, being a Ghoul. I don't need to eat or sleep as often. And the immortality doesn't hurt either."

"You're immortal?"

"Well, kinda. Ghouls just tend to live a real long time. Which is why you see so many from before the war and all."

"Huh..." Nova looked down at the ground, thinking hard for a moment. Suddenly, she scooted closer and looked up at him, opening her mouth to say something, but quickly shutting it. She let out a slight sigh, looking away, and then turning her head back up at him. "Can I... See your hand for a moment?"

"What? Sure." Hancock cocked his brow at her, not understanding what her sudden bashfulness was for. He leaned forward, getting close enough for their shoulders to almost touch, and held out his hand for her to take.

Rather delicately, she slipped her fingers into his palm, running her fingertips over his rough skin. Both of her hands clasped around him, feeling the texture of him, each one of his scars. He was honestly surprised at her warmth, even more so at her gentleness with him.

"Does it hurt?" Nova asked, staring down at his hand.

"Nope." Hancock lied.

Nova finally pulled away, and Hancock wished she hadn't. The heat of her skin was still tingling against him and he longed for her to come back. To his surprise, she did. Nova turned her body, getting on all fours in front of him, her face dangerously close to his. Her hand reached out and touched his face, her thumb grazing along his cheek. Hancock stared at her with large eyes, holding his breath, not quite knowing what to do.

Realizing the look on his face, Nova bit her lip. "Shit, sorry, I-" She tried to pull her hand away, but suddenly, Hancock's was on her wrist. He held her there, keeping her fingers grazing the skin on his face.

"S'fine." He said after finally letting himself breathe again. Nova hesitated, but slowly continued her examination of him. Hancock took his hat off for her and leaned his head back against the wall, watching her as she examined her. Her fingers dipped into the craters on his face, tracing along the hole where his nose was. That part he wasn't enjoying as much, as her hand just smelled like dog breath, but he wasn't going to dare say anything in case she would stop.

He watched her eyes on him. Her deep green eyes that held so much hurt and yet so much life. She didn't have the same eyes as everyone else in the Commonwealth. She had a different air to her. The way she spoke was so sheltered as if she had no ideas of the horrors this world held. Where did she come from?

"I'm sorry..." Nova whispered to him.

"Don't be." He spoke back, his voice low, matching her tone. His hand reached up to touch hers, caressing her perfectly soft skin. "I knew what I was getting myself into. I made my choice." She locked eyes with him, he could tell she was so full of questions, but she didn't dare ask them. She could tell he wasn't ready to talk just yet, so she went back to her silent study of him.

Slowly, Nova traced her finger along Hancock's bottom lip. His mouth opened slightly against his own will. She was watching his mouth with her intense eyes. Why was his heart speeding up? He couldn't remember the last time someone touched him like this. He had to exude so much will to make sure his mind didn't wander. Her finger dropped down to his chin, running down his neck, stopping at his chest.

All of her fingertips touched his chest and then blossomed outward until her palm was pressing against his collar bone. Hancock was holding his breath again, hoping she couldn't feel how hard his heart was beating, or how hard he was elsewhere... It was then that she leaned back, sitting back on her heels, her eyes cast downward at his chest.

"Thanks," Nova muttered and turned away. She crawled off to the sleeping bag she had set up for herself earlier and lied down, facing the wall away from him.

Of course, now Hancock was sitting there, his heart thumping, dick harder than it had been in months... And she just turned around and went to sleep. What even was all that? Was that all because she was truly curious about who he was or was that... Something else? Hancock pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes and rubbed them hard enough to see stars.

Maybe it'd be best to just pretend this whole thing never happened...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like my stuff, come find me on Tumblr:  
> https://river675.tumblr.com/


	3. Chapter 3

By morning, the rain hadn't completely stopped, but it was now safe to travel. Nova was still asleep when Hancock heard people shuffling about outside. Figuring it would be safe to leave her for a bit, he stood up and walked over to where she and Dogmeat were sleeping. Dogmeat was lying on Nova's chest, his head resting in the crook of her neck. When approached, he woke up and slowly blinked up at Hancock, opening his mouth for a big yawn.

"You keep watch, got it?" Hancock spoke quietly as he reached down and scratched Dogmeat behind the ears. His tail wagged, thumping the wooden floorboards beneath them, and then he rested his head back onto Nova's shoulder with a huff.

Hancock walked through the building, seeing the settlers from the other night slowly gathering their things and getting ready to leave. Most refused to make eye contact with him, as per the usual. Most people were afraid of Ghouls. Though as he went, he noticed some of the children around weren't as afraid of the adults, as his odd hat made them laugh. He considered that a win at least.

The rain had let up considerably, but the cracks in the pavement were now flooded from the downpour overnight, turning the paved streets into small rivers. The water didn't go up above his toes, but Hancock made sure to step carefully so he wouldn't fall into a pothole and get swept up by the notorious sinkholes around the Commonwealth. He made his way over to the corpses of the raiders he and Nova took out the previous day. He figured, before they head out, he would at least take a look to see if they had anything good on them. Just as he was searching the first raider, Hancock hit the jackpot. He pulled out a glass bottle, still sealed, the label faded over the years. He was sure Nova would like this.

~

Nova was pulled from her dreamless sleep rather abruptly. The hand on her shoulder shook her gently at first, and upon realizing she wasn't going to get up, they called in reinforcements. A wet tongue, accompanied by bad breath started licking at her face, causing Nova groggily sit up and push them away. Dogmeat yelped playfully as he squirmed past Nova's hands to lick her face again, and now she couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright dog, she's up now, you can let off." Hancock was kneeling down next to Nova, and he put his hand on Dogmeat's back to get him to lie down.

"We ready to head out?" Nova asked as she wiped the dog spit off her face and onto her sleeve.

"Almost, Just about though." Hancock stood and walked over to a small bag of stuff he pulled from the raiders before he got back. He snatched up the bottle he found before and brought it over to her, dropping it down into her hands. "Found this earlier. Figured I might share a little with ya." He chuckled. Nova turned the bottle over in her hands, trying to make sense of the faded label. Her eyes went wide then, realizing just what this was.

"Holy shit, this is 200-year-old whiskey,"

"The good stuff,"

"God, I want this right now, but..." Nova looked down at her Pipboy, realizing it was far too early in the morning to start drinking, but Hancock interrupted her thoughts.

"If that's what it takes to wake you up in the morning, Sunshine, go for it." He chuckled down at her, leaning against the wall to give her space to get up.

Nova looked between him and the bottle and realized that all social convention she had forced herself to get used to was now gone. Thrown out the window with the 'norm' she once knew. She cracked open the seal on the bottle and pressed it against her lips, throwing her head back and squeezing her eyes shut. It didn't quite help, as the liquid burned fire down her throat, tears squeezed out of her eyes, running down her face and neck. Drinking as much as she possibly could, she leaned forward and started coughing, holding the bottle in a shaky hand for Hancock to take from her.

"Shit," She said through ragged breaths, wiping the tears off of her face that drew lines in the dirt caked on her skin. "I guess I'm not as cool as I used to be, huh?" She gave him a lopsided smile through watery eyes.

Hancock said nothing, smiling down at her for a long moment. He seemed to enjoy the look on her face as far as Nova could tell... Without a word, Hancock brought the bottle to his own lips and tossed the bottle back. He gulped loudly a few times and then recorked the bottle before tossing it back into the bag. Hancock winked at Nova, and she flipped him off.

Crawling along the floor, Nova went over to the bag of salvage and started looking through it. A couple of new guns, some ammo, and what looked like a broken holotape. She figured she could fix it once they got back to her garage. In the bag was also a red bandana, Nova whistled for Dogmeat to come over, and she then tied it around his neck. She smiled at the handsome dog, and Hancock gave her a funny look.

"What?"

~

Nova stepped outside to meet with Flower, who was wearing the salvaged power armor and looking around to make sure it would be safe for them all to leave. Once she spotted Nova and Hancock coming her way she gave them both a smile bright enough to make the sun come out.

"Ready to get going?" Nova asked, looking up at Flower.

"Almost. Gotta make sure some of the kids are in good shape to travel. It's been scary for them, you know?" She looked out towards the hotel to see people slowly pouring out and into the flooded streets. "Hey, listen. I was thinkin' since last night. I know I got this power armor to keep us safe, but I was hopin' you'd come with us back to Sanctuary. 'Could use a good scout, seeing as how the raiders killed my last one."

Hancock looked over at Nova and watched in real-time as she struggled with this question. She was supposed to be making her way to Diamond City to find her son. Her lack of a proper poker face made it clear that she wanted nothing more than to say no, to wish them luck on their way and continue with her own endeavors. She was trying to hide it, though. She pressed her lips tight together and squinted her eyes a bit, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from making a face.

"Sure, glad to help," Nova said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Great!" Flower grinned. She must have missed the entire internal debate that Hancock saw so clearly that Nova had been having, but he wasn't about to say anything.

Nova pulled up a map on her Pipboy and let Flower look over her shoulder at it. They mapped out the safest routes to get to Sanctuary, Nova made sure to mark any points on the map where she had previously run into raiders so they could avoid them. Once the rout was secure and everyone was ready to go, they headed out with Nova leading the way.

~

"You know, when I decided to walk with you, I didn't think we'd end up on an escort mission," Hancock spoke quietly to Nova as they sat together in a broken-down building. They had gone ahead from the group to scout out and make sure the path was safe when they spotted a few raiders. Nova was setting up a sniper rifle on a broken windowsill, making sure that each and every raider was in clear view. By now the rain had stopped completely, but the air was thick with a cold humidity that made it hard to breathe.

"Yeah, well, I didn't either." She didn't bother to hide the disappointment in her voice.

"You could've just said no."

"And let them die?" She looked back at Hancock with real worry on her face, then huffed and went back to setting up her gun. "The world is too dangerous to let vulnerable people on their own. Once we reach Sanctuary they'll be safe. We have a perimeter set up, actual beds, and houses to sleep in... Garvey has a patrol set up as well. We're the most well-guarded place in the Commonwealth next to Diamond City in my opinion."

"You don't say?" Hancock sat back and watched Nova work. Once she had her sights set up, she kneeled down and watched the raiders through the scope of her gun.

The first shot rang out, echoing through the Commonwealth. The other raiders froze, not knowing where the shot came from, or who it came from. The man that Nova aimed at, a scout on the top of the building, slumped forward in his chair and fell off the side, splattering the pavement below. Before the others had a chance to process what had just happened, Nova fired again, and again, taking out more of the raiders as they scrambled to get cover. One of them had figured out where the shots were coming from and started firing back at Nova. The glass from the broken window she had been sitting under shattered, covering her in broken shards and cutting her face. Scrambling to get away from the window to keep herself from being shot, she slunk behind the wall and readied another gun she had holstered at her waist.

Over her shoulder, Hancock threw a grenade out the window at the raiders and ducked behind the wall at Nova's side. The wall behind them shook as they heard screams from the other side. Through the chaos, Nova went back towards the window and shot at the rest of the disorientated crew. It wasn't long after until the area was clear, Hancock going to check to make sure there were no stragglers left behind. Nova packed up her guns and headed back out towards the street, meeting Hancock there with a smile.

"I'd say that was a job well done." Hancock grinned down at her. "Was gonna say, we almost made it without a scratch, but," He reached up and ran his thumb along Nova's cheek, wiping away some blood that was coming from a cut from the broken glass earlier.

She felt her face grow hot as he ran his hand along her cheek. Not wanting him to notice, she knocked his hand away and gave him a playful sneer. Putting her pinky finger between her lips, she whistled loudly, signaling to the others it was now safe to continue. Dogmeat was the first to come out of hiding, barking loudly and running excitedly towards Nova and Hancock. Slowly, the settlers that had been following revealed themselves, lead by Flower in her power armor, and they continued on again down the path.

~

Thankfully, the coming days were rather quiet. They had to make camp several times a day since the elderly and pregnant woman had a hard time keeping up. Because of this, Nova had grown rather antsy, as the trip took twice as long to complete. She wanted so badly to get back on the road to finding her son, but it would unfortunately have to keep waiting.

On an unusually warm day for fall, the sun shining bright overhead, they were getting close to Sanctuary now. Nova had been making sure the coming towns were safe, but she had noticed that Hancock was unusually quiet that day. More often than not he always had something witty to say that made Nova laugh, but today had been a bit different.

"Something eatin' ya?" Nova finally asked as they strolled casually along the road together. Dogmeat was up ahead sniffing the ground, the rest of the settlers a ways behind.

Hancock glanced down at Nova, taking a moment to think of the right words. "Yeah, I actually been meaning to talk to you."

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, it ain't anything bad." He reassured her, his hands shoved deep into his pockets while they walked together. "I just been thinking, back when you took care of Bobbi. I ain't proud of having to put you through that. That sort of dictatorial shit ain't usually my style, you feel?"

"You seem awfully... Torn up over Bobbi," Nova glanced up at him out of the corner of her eye. "Was there something between you?"

"No, nothing like that." Hancock realized he may have answered too quickly, but he continued. "I just hate seeing guys like me to use their sway to do that kinda harm. Hell, that sorta bull's the whole reason I became mayor in the first place." He noticed the look of curiosity on Nova's face and chuckled at her. She'd definitely have to get better at that.

"You're telling me you didn't just walk into Goodneighbor get that title from your charm alone?" Nova said with a wicked smirk.

"Well, that's the story I usually like to tell to pretty ladies at the bar. But, seeing as how I only have a pretty lady and no bar, I might as well tell you the whole story." Hancock chuckled as Nova playfully punched him in the arm. Hearing their commotion, Dogmeat barked and ran back towards the two to check up on them. Nova scratched him on the neck and sent him back out to scout ahead.

"Back when I first strolled into town, some ass named Vic ran the place for I don't know how long before that." Hancock continued. "Guy was scum. Used us drifters like his own personal piggy bank. He had this goon squad he used to keep people in line. Every so often he'd let them off the leash, go blow off some steam on the populace at large. Folks with homes could lock their doors, but us drifters, we got it bad. There was one night, some drifter said something to them. They cracked him open like a can of Cram on the pavement. And we all just stood there. Did nothing."

Nova noticed the guilt in Hancock's eyes as he watched the road ahead and really felt for him. "You can't blame yourself. It sounds like you were outmatched. Probably would've killed you too."

"You're right, but it was still spineless." He looked over at her, his eyes serious, and she swallowed hard. "I felt like less than nothing. Afterwards, I got so high, I blacked out completely. When I finally came to, I was on the floor of the old state house. Right in front of the clothes of John Hancock."

"Oh?"

"John Hancock. First American hoodlum and defender of the People. I still might've been high, but those close spoke to me, told me what I needed to do. I smashed the case, put them on, and started my new life. After that, I went clean for a bit, got organized, convinced Kleo to loan me some hardware." He gave Nova a little smirk. "Got a crew of drifters together and headed into the ruins, started training. Next time Vic's boys went on their tear, we'd be ready for 'em."

"The fact that you're standing here and Vic isn't would suggest things went well?"

"Oh yeah. So, the night of, we all got loaded, let Vic's boys get good and hammered, and burst from the windows and the rooftops where we'd been hiding. They never even saw it coming. We didn't have to fire a shot. We didn't have to. But we sure fucking did. It was a massacre. Once we'd mopped up, we strolled right into Vic's quarters in the state house, wrapped a rope around his neck, and threw him off the balcony. And there I am, gun in hand, draped in Hancock's duds, looking at all the people of Goodneighbor assembled below." Hancock kicked a chunk of loose concrete, sending it flying down the street, breaking a car window down the road. "I had to say something. The first time I said'em, they didn't even feel like my words:"

"Of the people, for the people!" Hancock and Nova spoke in unison, and she looked up at him with a smile that met her eyes.

"That was my inaugural address." Hancock smiled back down at her. "Became mayor of Goodneighbor that day. And from then on, I vowed I'd never stand back and watch. Ever again."

"Well, at least you know now you don't gotta do it alone," Nova walked closer to him and nudged her elbow into his arm. She suddenly stopped walking and looked up at him, smiling, looking right into his black eyes. "I'm glad I met you, John Hancock."

"I could say the same about you, Sunshine." Hancock reached out his hand and touched her chin. He didn't even realize he was doing it at the time, but his fingers rest just underneath her chin, pressing gently to tilt her head back. His thumb ran across her skin, just barely grazing her lower lip as it did. Nova's heart began to race, but she couldn't quite stop the grin that slowly formed on her lips.

The heavy sound of footsteps from Flower's power armor approached and Hancock pulled his hand away from Nova. She was almost disappointed as she sheepishly looked down at the ground for a moment. Dogmeat once again came running up to them and she used this as a moment to kneel down and pet the dog.

"Why'd we stop, anyway?" Hancock asked, also leaning down to pet Dogmeat, but not making eye contact with Nova.

"'Cause we're here." As she said that, the rest of the settlers that had followed them here had arrived. They looked over and saw the bridge leading into Sanctuary and breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Flower approached and whistled loudly. "This place looks better than I thought!"

"I'd say it's pretty nice, yeah. Actually used to live here myself, before the war and all." Nova said and Hancock shot her a confused look. "I'll tell ya' later." She said, loud enough for just him to hear.

"No kidding?" Flower said, still looking over at the town. "Let's go, I've been dying to see Preston."

Nova attempted to get up, but as she lifted herself, she fell back down hard onto her knee. The leg she had stitched up a couple of days ago had given out on her and started throbbing with pain. She grit her teeth, unable to hide the horrible time she was having. Hancock wasted no time in letting her grab him as he wrapped his arm around her body and helped Nova to her feet.

"You alright there?" He asked, speaking quietly to her.

"About as fine as I'll ever be..."

Nova pulled away from Hancock and limped her way over the bridge and into Sanctuary. Of course, he stayed close by to give her someone to lean on if she needed it. The pouring in of new people made the ones already there step out of their homes warily. But once they saw Nova walk up, they soon greeted the new people with open arms in the Sanctuary.

Preston Garvey stepped out of one of the houses, trying to see what all the commotion was. He looked out over the sea of newcomers and looked surprised, yet happy. He made eye contact with Nova across the way and hurried over to her.

"General," He addressed her. "What's going on here?"

"Ran into them while I was away. They said they were on their way here so we lent them a hand, got here safe and sound." Nova motioned behind her. "Also, found someone you might like to see."

Behind them was Flower, just stepping down from her power armor. She grinned as she walked over to Preston, her arms outstretched to give him a tight hug. Preston honestly looked confused for a moment, he saw something familiar in Flower, but couldn't place where. He returned her hug and then held her at arms distance, examining her face. It took a moment, but it finally clicked.

"Cousin Gary?"

Flower laughed. "I go by Flower now. We got a lot to catch up on after all these years!" She gave him her biggest grin yet, and Preston's face melted into a smile to match hers.

"I'm so glad to see you again, Flower. I'm glad you're safe." He turned towards Nova, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Thanks for helping Flower get here, as well as everyone else. I knew I picked the right person to be the General of the Minute Men."

"Well you didn't have much of a selection did you?" Nova chuckled.

"Listen, with all these new people here, we're gonna need some extra beds for them to sleep in, and winter is right around the corner. Mind giving us a hand in that? Could really use your help getting a few more of these houses to be livable." Preston was still smiling at Nova, his eyes wide, hoping she would be more than happy to help.

She wasn't. Nova tried to smile back but couldn't, so she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and bit down hard. She didn't answer right away, just let a small noise escape her throat as she struggled to find the words.

"Actually, we were just heading out." Hancock suddenly spoke up. "We got a date with a detective over in Diamond City. Help with the whole missing son and all that."

"Alright, fair enough," Preston looked between Hancock and Nova. "Thank you again, really. Good luck with finding your son."

"Thank you," Nova finally gave a proper smile. Before they left, Flower had to come over to give Nova a bruising hug, lifting her off her feet as she did. When put back down onto the pavement, her leg once again gave out on her, and she almost fell back if it weren't for Hancock giving her someone to lean against. They turned to go, Nova limping along as they went, leaning against Dogmeat's back the same way she did the night she hobbled into Goodneighbor. As soon as they were out of earshot of the others, she spoke again.

"Thanks for that, by the way."

"I feel like you have a hard time telling people no." Hancock chuckled, tough more to himself than to her.

"How'd you guess?"

"Hey, you're not lookin' so hot right now." Hancock stopped walking and took a good look at Nova. She was sweating, and the skin on her face was beginning to look a bit pale. She held tight to Dogmeat's fur for a moment, looking at the ground.

"My leg has been bothering me ever since I got jumped by those super mutants the night we met." She admit to him. "I think I better get another look at it before we get going. Come on this way, I have a safe place where we could stay." She led Hancock over the bridge out of Sanctuary towards a truck stop they had passed along the way. Hancock didn't think much of it at first, but upon closer inspection, he realized this was the place she was talking about.

The Red Rocket truck stop looked like it had been mostly cleared of the debris from the past few hundred years, looked almost clean if the pavement weren't cracked and coming up in places. They walked past the gas station sign, past a row of bushes, and Hancock noticed that hiding just behind were rows of turrets, unseen by outside eyes, but deadly to anyone that came near. The broken windows on the truck stop itself looked to be removed and replaced with intact glass, frosted over so nobody could see inside.

Nova hobbled over and pulled the garage door open, letting it thud loudly as the door fell back. Inside was another intact suit of power armor, looking as if she had restored this one as well. Hancock was honestly impressed at this point. There were a couple of workbenches, tools haphazardly thrown about, pieces of armor and equipment littered the floor, some looking as though she was in the middle of upgrading or modifying them. Nova turned and stepped into the rest of the building, which Hancock saw was now partially furnished like a regular house. There was a sink, some couches, a desk with a barely working computer on it.

"I couldn't bring myself to restore the house I used to live in back there," Nova said to Hancock as she stepped into a back room for some privacy. "Give me a minute, I gotta change." This saddened him, as he had grown to like watching her walk around in that tight little suit of hers. Ah well, maybe she'd change back before they left. "I kinda built this place here up like a fortress. It's safe enough at least."

"Care to explain what you meant by living before the war?" Hancock asked as he looked around the place, flipping through a magazine rack full of old, crusty comics.

"I'm actually over 200 years old, to tell the truth," Nova called from the other room, and Hancock turned quickly back to look at the doorway she disappeared into. "The vault I was in, they froze us. Kept us on ice while the world went to shit. Me, Shaun, and my husband went in there, as well as most of our neighborhood." Hancock froze at the word husband. "Only Shaun and I made it out alive..." Her voice tapered off and Hancock didn't want to say anything else. He mulled over her words for a long moment until he heard her step back into the room.

Hancock was glad she changed out of her vault suit. Now she wore tiny little jeans shorts and a thin red tank top with the Nuka Cola logo printed on the back. He didn't bother to hide the fact that he was staring at her, or her nipples clearly prominent through the shirt, but when his eyes trailed down to her long legs, he stopped at the huge, purple bruise that formed around an odd, dark scar on her mid-thigh.

"That don't look too good," He grimaced.

"Yeah, kinda worse than I thought." She said rather matter of factly to him. There was another small room in the back she walked into, and upon closer inspection, it looked like an old restored bathroom. "I haven't figured out how to get running water in here, but feel free to make yourself at home." She walked out carrying a medkit and plopped herself down on one of the couches. "I gotta take these stitches out, so I might be a bit."

"That cut there looks infected. You want some help with that?"

"Nah, I'm good. Back before the war, I was in the army for a bit. They taught us a little of everything to keep ourselves alive."

"Jack of all trades, huh?" Hancock sat down next to her on the couch, making himself comfortable there. Nova was about to swing her legs up onto the couch as she did so, and she gave him a flat look as he grinned at her in response.

Nova turned and brought her injured leg up onto the couch, letting it rest in Hancock's lap since he decided to be an ass and sit there. He didn't seem to mind, though. She grabbed a pillow on the couch and used it to prop herself up so she could work. On her other knee, she rested the medkit, and opened it up, full to bursting with supplies. The first thing she did was clean the dry blood and sweat off of the wound. It looked even worse up close, probably infected, but it wasn't festering yet.

"You sure you don't wanna get that looked at? I've seen people lose their limbs for less."

"I'll be fine." Nova insisted, and Hancock went quiet while she worked.

She was methodical about what she did and didn't rush herself. Probably because he could see she was in so much pain. She cut the stitches out one by one, cleaning the wounds with ointment on a rag. Once all the stitches were out, she took a stimpack and injected it into herself, right above the large, purple welt that had formed around the cuts on her leg. The longer she worked the more she started to sweat, the moisture dripping off her chin and onto her chest. Hancock couldn't help but watch her, fascinated with how her hands moved, or the emotions clearly prominent on her face. He tried to help where he could though, as once she was ready to wrap her leg up in gauze, he helped lift it for her to wrap around underneath.

"See, told you I'd be fine," Nova's voice was weak after all of that, her face drenched in sweat. Hancock raised an eyebrow and looked down at her leg, still able to see parts of the huge bruise peeking out from around the bandages, the veins prominent and vivid through her skin.

"You should get some rest, you look like you need it," Hancock placed his hand on her knee, his fingers absentmindedly running over her skin.

"No way, it's your turn to sleep the night," Nova insisted.

"I'm a Ghoul. We don't need as much sleep, remember?" Hancock was partially telling the truth. Ghouls didn't need as much sleep as humans did, but ever since becoming one, the constant pain he was in was enough to keep him up most nights. With a steady stream of Jet and Med-X, he was able to put himself to rest, but tonight didn't seem like a good time for that.

And Nova silently agreed, wiping the sweat off her head, beginning to feel dizzy. "Alright... My bed is in the other room. Mind giving me a hand?"

"Normally I'd be more than happy to take you to bed," Hancock stated, giving her a wicked grin. "But I don't think you'd be able to properly enjoy yourself tonight." He said with a wink and Nova wrinkled her nose at him. She kicked him in the shin with her good leg and he just laughed.

"You're so fucking dirty, Hancock,"

"You ain't seen the half of it," Hancock smirked and gently removed her bandaged leg from his lap. He stood over her, and then bent down to pick her up into his arms. She wasn't expecting this, so she held onto his neck for dear life as he did. Hancock carried her into the other room which held just a bed and a broken wardrobe, her vault suit hanging off the end of the bed and laid her down. "Want me to climb in with you?" He asked jokingly.

"You wish," Nova managed to laugh, and Hancock took that as a success. He was about to turn and leave when Nova took him by the shoulder. Then, she pulled him into a tight hug around his neck, taking him by surprise. "Thanks for being someone I can trust." She said quietly.

"Ditto," He finally said back after wrapping his arms tightly around her. She felt warm, just as warm as the other night when she had her hands all over his face. He liked that.


	4. Chapter 4

Morning came and went and Nova was still asleep. Hancock checked on her multiple times throughout the night to make sure she didn't straight up die from her wounds. She had become absolutely drenched with sweat, but by morning her fever had broke, and the color was finally beginning to come back into her face. By noon, Hancock was feeling antsy and figured she had slept long enough. He went in to go wake her and noticed she had shifted in her sleep. Nova's tank top was pulled to the side, revealing one of her breasts.

He didn't mean to stare at her as long as he did. What did she say the night before about being somebody she could trust? Honestly, he was really only looking because he was curious. The skin around one of her eyes was pale and splotchy, and he noticed the same pattern creeping around the skin on her chest as well. He couldn't tell if it was a scar or something she was born with. He indulged himself a little more with the image of her tits on full display before walking over to the side of the bed. The first thing he did was pull her shirt back down to cover her before she even knew what happened, and then gently shook her shoulder.

"You've been out for sixteen hours now, time to get up." He said as she slowly began to wake up. When she realized what he said, Nova's eyes went wide and she sat up.

"What time is it?" She asked groggily, rubbing her eyes.

"Twelve thirty. Figured we should get going."

"Shit..." She leaned forward, resting her head onto Hancock's stomach as she tried to will away her throbbing headache. His hand rested on her as he gently rubbed her back, giving her time to become fully alert. "How long do you think it'd take to get to Diamond City?"

"Probably about two days, as long as you don't sleep for half the day again."

"Alright... Go wait for me outside. I'll be out in a bit." Nova took her head off of Hancock and leaned back to look up at him. In response, his hand found her cheek, running his fingertips across her skin before they trailed off at her chin. He said nothing as he shoved his hands into his pockets and took his leave to go wait for her outside.

Nova wasn't quite sure when little touches like that became normal between them. It must have started when she was curious about what his face felt like. She honestly didn't mind. It had been quite some time since she woke up in that vault and hadn't been close to anyone since then. She was too afraid. And she missed Nate too much...

Trying to rid herself of the thought of her dead husband, Nova slowly put her weight on her bandaged leg in an attempt to stand. It hurt like a bitch, but it was at least better than it was the night before. She took her time slipping out of her clothes and back into her vault suit. Despite the suit making her stand out like a sore thumb, it was at least comfortable to wear. It helped regulate her temperature, protect (somewhat) from rads, and provided good enough armor for what she needed. Though, she struck an idea.

~

While Hancock waited outside, he lit a cigarette and looked out over at the town of Concord in the distance. It was completely abandoned, and he wondered what it might have been like when people were living there before the war. As his mind wandered, Dogmeat ran up to him with a large stick in his mouth. The dog's tail wagged as he jumped around from side to side, hoping Hancock would play with him. Of course, with a smile, he reached down and took the stick from Dogmeat's mouth, having to wrestle it away from him as Dogmeat wouldn't let go at first, and threw it as far as he could down the road. Dogmeat bolted after the stick, running faster than Hancock had ever seen a dog run before.

"Having fun?" Nova asked as she walked up behind Hancock, her hands on her hips.

Hancock looked back at her, up and down, seeing her now wearing a pair of long jeans and a flannel. "What, no vault suit? You're breakin' my heart." He chuckled.

Nova pulled the collar of her shirt back to reveal the suit underneath. "It's too cold to wear just that, figured I'd layer up, you know? You ready to head out?"

"You sure you're good, hobbling around on that leg of yours?"

"I'm limping, but I'll be fine." As she said that, Nova plucked the cigarette out of his hand and brought it to her lips, taking a long drag.

"Hey, at least with the limp you'll actually look your age." Hancock chuckled. In response, Nova blew the smoke directly into his face, only causing his smile to widen. "Hot."

She rolled her eyes at him and handed the cigarette back. "Alright, let's move out."

~~~

Nova was lucky the road to Diamond City was relatively quiet. Only twice did she accidentally run headfirst into a den of feral Ghouls and needed Hancock to save her ass. She was glad she had him with her, otherwise, she'd be in some deep shit. Once they got closer to the city, Nova turned off the map on her Pipboy and they talked while they traveled the rest of the way there. Nova was telling him about what had happened after she had woken up, how she saved Preston, and a few others from Concord and even killed a Deathclaw all by herself.

Hancock laughed loudly as they passed a few of the Diamond City guards on their way to the stadium. "You honestly think I'm gonna believe you killed a Deathclaw?"

"Swear to God! Preston and I were defending ourselves from raiders when it just burst out of the sewers! I was lucky I had the power armor and minigun, otherwise I wouldn't have made it."

"Sure, sister, if that's the story you wanna tell."

"Honest. Next time we're up by Sanctuary again, I'll show it to you. The crows have eaten away most of it by now, but I'm sure they're still some bones left as-" Nova realized that Hancock wasn't walking next to her anymore as she was about to enter the city, and she turned around to look for him. Standing on the street, Hancock stared at the statue of the baseball player and the stadium behind it, not saying anything.

Nova walked over to his side, arms crossed tight against her chest, and stared at the stadium with him. "You alright?" She asked him quietly.

"You know," Hancock spoke, not looking at her. "I didn't mention it before, but this place doesn't take kindly to Ghouls."

"Yeah, Bobbi mentioned that last time I was here. But, I'm sure they'll make an exception for the Mayor of Goodneighbor. Right?"

Hancock chuckled. "Don't really think it works like that around here."

"Come on," Nova gave him a reassuring smile and grabbed his arm. Her hand slid down his sleeve and grabbed his own, dragging him along behind her into the city. "If anyone tries to give you trouble, they'll have to go through me. Got it?" She said as she marched forward, looking back at him.

Hancock didn't quite know what to say to that. Instead, he happily let himself get dragged along by the enthusiastic vault girl.

Inside the city was as busy as ever. People were out and about, guards patrolling, shop owners yelling about their goods. At the foot of the steps, Piper was leaning against the bottom railing talking to her little sister, Nat, who usually hocked the newspapers they wrote. Nat spotted them first on their way in and waved. Piper turned and her eyes lit up upon seeing Nova.

"Hey there, Blue, long time no see. You been hanging in there?" Piper asked.

"Had to make a detour to help some folks out, but, I'm back to see Nick."

"As helpful as ever, I see. Good to see you haven't changed." Piper then turned to Hancock, and when she realized who it was sneered. "Well, if it isn't my second least favorite Mayor in the Commonwealth."

"Good to see you too, Piper." Hancock responded.

"You two know each other?" Nova looked between them curiously.

"Oh, yeah, we do." Piper crossed her arms. "I'm assuming he hasn't told you yet, has he."

"Hey, you watch it." Hancock warned, taking a step closer towards her.

"Hey, stop." Nova ordered and stood between the two of them, defusing the situation. "I don't know what's going on, but you lay off on him, Piper. Hancock saved my life more times than I can count."

"Yeah, well, you just watch your back around him, alright? Or else you might just find a knife in it one of these days."

Nova knew Piper had good intentions but didn't know why there was so much animosity between the two. Still, she grabbed Hancock's sleeve and dragged him away from the sisters, completely missing the rude gestures they made towards each other as they walked away. Nova stuck to the back alleys of the city, making her way to Nick's detective agency, but once outside the door she stopped and turned towards Hancock.

"What was that before?" She asked, placing her hands on her hips.

Hancock rubbed the back of his neck. "Listen, we all got pasts. Let's just say that this ain't the first time I've been to Diamond City..." He trailed off, unable to look her in the eye.

Nova watched him, looking between his dark eyes, and then took a deep breath. "You'll tell me about it when you're ready?"

Hancock was surprised at her words. She wasn't going to grill him on what had happened? He didn't know just what to say to that.

"Yeah, when I'm ready." He parroted back to her.

"Good, then let's go." Nova turned on her heel, heading into the agency, holding the door open for Dogmeat to run in first and for Hancock to follow after.

Once inside, Nick's secretary, Ellie, was going through some of the boxes in the back of the room and turned around when she heard them enter. She grinned when she saw Nova and approached with her hands held out in front of her.

"I'm so glad you make it back alright. Thanks again for helping Nick. You saved him, this agency, and my job!"

"I wasn't that big of a deal," Nova said, waving her off. Hancock knew she was lying, but he wasn't about to narc on her like that.

"You know," Ellie continued. "If you're looking for work, and don't mind putting on the detective hat, Nick sure could use a new partner..."

"Woah, once case at a time, Ellie." Nick Valentine stepped out of a backroom, lit cigarette in hand. "Our new friend needs our help, first."

"Glad you made it back alright," Nova said, taking Nick's hand in hers.

"I could say the same to you," He then noticed the red coat standing behind Nova, and he squinted. "Hancock, long time no see."

"Hey there, Nick. Hope you haven't missed me too much over the years." Hancock crossed his arms and leaned against the door. He had his head tilted up, grinning at Nick. If Nova hadn't known better, she'd have thought he was flirting with the old detective.

"Yeah, yeah, keep dreaming. Now, let's get down to business. Nova, take a seat. Make yourself comfortable." Nick sat down at the desk stationed in the middle of the room, and Nova sat across from him in the plush chair. Dogmeat walked over and rested his head on her thigh, and she absentmindedly ran her hands through the fur on his face.

"When you're trying to find someone who's gone missing, the devil is in the details." Nick started, placing his elbows on the desk and leaning forward towards Nova. Ellie stood just behind Nick, a pen and clipboard in hand, ready to write everything down. "Tell me everything you can, no matter how... painful it might be."

Nova kept running her hands through Dogmeat's fur, looking down at him, trying to find the right words.

"200 years ago, my husband, son, and I were all ushered into a vault, vault 111, just as the bombs dropped. We were some of the few who survived. Inside the vault, they had some sort of... cryo facility. They put us all on ice, none of us knew what was really going on at the time. I woke up briefly to watch it happen..." She sucked in a shaky breath and continued. "A man and a woman showed up. They didn't say much, but they opened the pod that my husband and son were in. Nate, he was... He was just trying to protect Shaun, to keep them from taking him, and they... They just..." Nova was having a hard time getting the words out when she felt a hand grip her shoulder. She looked up and Hancock was right next to her. He wasn't looking at her, just holding onto her shoulder, giving her something other than Dogmeat to ground herself to.

After a moment, she felt well enough to continue. "Nate was murdered trying to save our son. As they left, they mentioned something about me being a 'backup', but I have no idea what that could mean. I don't know why anyone would want to take Shaun, he's less than a year old... Why would somebody do this?" She looked up at Nick, her eyes desperate for his help.

"Hmm..." Nick scratched at his chin with his exoskeleton hand, making an odd scraping noise as he did. "There's a lot of groups in the Commonwealth that take people. Raiders, Super Mutants, the Gunners, and of course, there's the Institute."

"So you really think the Institute is responsible? I still don't really know what this Institute is that everyone keeps talking about."

"They're basically the boogeymen of the Commonwealth. Something goes wrong, everyone blames them. They're the ones who make the synths, me included. Those early models of theirs are downright nightmares to look at if you've ever seen one before." Nova shook her head, indicating that she had not, in fact, run into one yet while in the Commonwealth. "Count yourself lucky you've never been face to face with one of them. They have a habit of stripping whole towns for parts, killing everything in their way. Then you got the newer models, good as human, infiltrate cities and pull strings from the shadows. Worst of all, no one knows why they do it, what their plan is, or where they are. Not even me, and I'm a synth myself. A discarded prototype, anyway."

"Either way, I need to find Shaun."

"You're right. This speculation is getting us off track. Let's focus on what you saw. What did the kidnappers look like?" Nick leaned back into his chair, resting his hands in his lap.

"The woman was dressed in some sort of hazard suit from what I could tell. The man had a metal brace of some sort on his arm. He came right up to me in my pod, bald head, long scar across his left eye. His voice was low and rough, like... sandpaper across your face."

"Wait, it couldn't be..." Nick once again leaned forward rather abruptly. "You didn't hear the name Kellogg at all, did you?"

Nova shook her head no at him. "They didn't say their names."

"It couldn't be, no... That's too much of a coincidence. Wasn't Kellogg living in Diamond City not too long ago, had a ten-year-old kid with him?" Nick turned back to his secretary to ask specifics about the man known as Kellogg, but Nova didn't hear much of it.

Nova's ears started ringing and she became lightheaded for a moment. Was this the man that took her child? And the boy that was with him, that had to be Shaun... Perhaps she was asleep for far longer than she thought after they took him. Ten years old... He'd been without her for that long? He wouldn't even remember her, he wouldn't know her as his mother. Would he even love her? No, she couldn't think about that. She had to focus on getting her son back. It doesn't matter how much time had passed, she still needed to have him in her arms again.

"Lets you and I go talk a walk over to Kellogg's last known address. See if we can snoop out where he went." Nick's voice pulled her from her thoughts as he stood from his desk, and Nova stood up quickly with him. She rushed to follow him out the door despite her limp, almost slamming it in Hancock's face as he hurried to follow them out.

The sun was starting to go down at this point, casting long shadows all along the city, making it hard to see where they were going in the back alleyways, but Nova followed close behind Nick as they went. Hancock caught up with them and nudged his arm into Nova's, giving her a worried look.

"You doin' alright?" He checked in with her.

"I'm fine. I just... Have to find my son."

"I know. Just don't wanna go running headfirst into a trap without thinking, you know?"

"Kellogg hasn't been seen in Diamond City for quite some time," Nick spoke as he lead them up to a catwalk, taking them to the stands of the surrounding stadium. "I doubt he'd boobytrap the house he abandoned, but he is indeed dangerous. So it's best you keep your guard up. Both of you. Everything I dug up on him before his disappearance is bad news. He's more than just a mercenary, he's a professional. Quick, clean, thorough. He has no enemies because they're all dead... Except you." Nick glanced back at Nova with his glowing yellow eyes before turning forward again.

"Nine to one odds says he's our man. It's more than just you identifying his distinguishing features. The MO is all him as well. Leading a small team to kidnap a baby and leaving one of the parents alive for later? Not many mercs in the Commonwealth can pull that off." Nick lead them to a small metal shack at the end of the catwalk. It definitely looked abandoned from what Nova could tell. "Here we are. Keep an eye out, will ya? Let's see if I can get this open."

Nick knelt down and struggled with the lock. Nova watched him work, taking a step towards Hancock and leaning her shoulder into his chest. She wasn't going to lie to herself, she was feeling pretty terrible right now. Her son was already ten years old. He was growing up while she was trapped in that vault. She knew there was nothing she could have done to prevent this, but there was still that nagging thought in the back of her mind. Hancock's hand found the small of her back, dipping underneath the flannel to touch her vault suit. His hand was large and warm on her back, and she definitely welcomed the feeling of closeness to another person.

"That's one heck of a lock... Got something to hide, Kellogg?" Nick muttered to himself under his breath. In frustration, he pounded his fist against the metal doorframe, making a low thud reverberate off the building. He stood up and turned back to Nova. "Why don't you give it a try?"

Nova didn't know much about lockpicking, but she stepped up anyway. She knelt down to get a better look at the lock and realized right away it was far beyond her limited knowledge of locks.

"Don't think I can pick this," Nova admitted. She struggled to stand, putting all of her weight on the doorknob as she tried to hide the tremors in her body.

"No luck? Guess we'll need to find the key. Why don't you head on up to the Mayor's office? Ask around and see if anyone might be able to help you out. I'll stay here and see if I can jimmy this lock."

"Alright," Nova turned to leave but stopped when she heard Hancock speak up.

"I'll wait here while you go. Keep an eye out for ole' Nick here while you go talk to McDonough, alright?" Hancock took a step back and clicked his teeth together, trying not to look too suspicious, but Nova could see right through him.

"Ok," Once again she surprised him with her response. "Come on, Dogmeat." She whistled for the dog to follow her, and Hancock watched as she made her way down the catwalk and through the city.

"Not yet ready to face your own brother again, are you?" Nick made Hancock jump as he spoke suddenly. He was turned away to face the door, still trying to break his way in. Hancock leaned his elbows on the railing of the catwalk, trying to watch Nova as she continued along.

"Don't quite think we'll have a happy little family reunion, Nick." Hancock's voice was full of malice as he thought of his brother, sitting up there in his little safehouse high up in the stands of Diamond City. "Haven't seen him since I went Ghoul. I don't think he'd be exactly pleased to see me strolling in through his front door."

"You made a gamble coming here with her," Nick pointed out. "You promised all those years ago you'd never set foot in these walls again. What made you change your mind?"

Hancock didn't answer, and that spoke volumes more than anything he could have said aloud. Nick got frustrated with the lock again and decided to give up, making himself comfortable leaning on the railing next to Hancock.

"Dames, am I right?" Nick said rather passively. Hancock only shrugged and pulled out a Jet inhaler from his coat pocket. He needed something to pass the time while Nova was away. Taking a puff from the inhaler, Hancock felt his head swim deliciously as the Jet took effect right away. This stuff stank to hell, but he wouldn't give up the high for the whole world.

"You know, Nick, I haven't known her that long, but I feel like I'd die for that girl." Hancock was sure it was the Jet talking, but he knew deep down he meant it.

"Be careful with that one, or you just might."

It wasn't long before she was back, carrying the keys to the house she had somehow convinced McDonough to give her. She wasted no time in barging inside, tearing through the house for any sign, any clue she could get to where her son would be. She was starting to lose hope when she was going through his desk and saw an odd wire on the floor. She followed it up to a hidden button on the underside of the desk, revealing an entire other room when pressed. In that room was exactly what she needed. A way to find Kellogg, to get to him and hopefully get her boy back. The room was stocked with food, ammo, and rations. Almost everything one would need to survive in this wasteland. Why would he leave it behind? She found a cigar sitting on one of the tables. The end was burnt as if Kellogg had been smoking it not too long ago. This was it, this was exactly what she needed to find him.

"Hey Nick, think Dogmeat could track this?" She held up the cigar to him to examine.

"Hm, good idea. Commonwealth mutt like him could track a man's scent for miles." Nick looked between her and the dog, and just as Nova was about to leave the building, he spoke again. "Before you head out... I know this is personal business, but facing Kellogg is going to be dangerous. If you have to face Kellogg on your own, just say so. Besides, you already have plenty of company." He motioned towards both Dogmeat and Hancock. "We can't all go sniffing through the Commonwealth after one man."

Nova stared at him, mulling over what he had said. He was right, this was going to be dangerous. Kellogg was the man who murdered her husband and kidnapped her baby. He's been on the run for years and was one of the best mercenaries around. She knew going after him alone with be far too dangerous, but she couldn't bear the thought of bringing her friend with her on that dangerous of a mission. Her friend. Hancock. She looked over at him, studying his face. He was worried about her, she could tell, but he didn't speak up. She would have liked him to, but never would she admit that to him. It was obvious that Nova wasn't hiding the emotions playing out on her face. Try as she might she would never be good at that. She was as easy to read as a children's book and Hancock knew that.

It was difficult for her to find the right words, but she finally took a step forward towards Hancock. "Hey... Listen." Her voice was hoarse as she struggled to speak. "Why don't you head back to Goodneighbor for a while?"

It took Hancock a few seconds to fully register what she had said, but when he did he didn't like what he heard. "You sure about that?" He asked, his voice sounding a bit harsher than he had intended. "Nick said himself, it'll be real fucking dangerous to go alone."

"I want him to come with me. I'll come find you after I'm done with Kellogg." Her voice was firmer now, and she stood up straighter while addressing him. Hancock didn't know what to say to that. She wanted Nick to go with her to face Kellogg but not him? Sure, he hadn't known her that long, but surely she trusted him more than Nick, right?

"You're leaving me for that circuit board?" Hancock walked towards Nova, looking down at her. He was far too angry, so he grit his teeth and stepped back. He turned to Nick, pointing at his chest. "You bring her back in one piece, _Nick_."

"I can't promise there won't be some scuffs and dings." Nick's attempt at humor was rather tone-deaf in that situation.

Without another word, Hancock took his leave. He didn't look at Nova again, but he felt her eyes on him as he walked out the building, letting the door swing shut loudly behind him. Once he was out of earshot, Nova let out a shaky breath and looked down towards the floor. She clenched her fists, only to open them when Dogmeat started licking her knuckles.

"Come on, kid let's go get that bastard." Nick walked up and placed a hand on her shoulder, mirroring Hancock from earlier. "This is your show from here on out, okay? You say jump, I'll say how high."

She glanced up at him, seeing the peeling exoskeleton on his face and his inhuman eyes. Somehow, Nova had been finding more comfort in non-humans than she did in other people. She gave him a nod, swallowing the knot of fear in her throat. It was time to finally end this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! If you're enjoying my stuff, come find me on my social medias maybe?  
> I'm on Twitter: @KrisPS675  
> And Tumblr: River675


	5. Chapter 5

What's the cliche? So close, yet so far away. That was her son, Shaun.

Nova sat on a chair, her elbows on her knees, her palms on her forehead and fingers laced tightly through her hair. She stared down at Kellogg. His corpse, eyes wide open, staring back at her. She had gone into this hell for only one reason: to find her son. And now, here she sat, bleeding from her scalp, her lip busted open, and more questions than she had answers. And Shaun was nowhere to be found.

She sat in utter silence as tears fell from her eyes, stinging the cuts on her face. All she could taste was copper and mucus. Her ears rang and her fists grew into tight balls on her scalp, pulling some of the hair from her head. Leaning forward, her head between her knees, she sobbed. She cried the way a broken woman would. Utterly and completely broken, from the world, from the horrors she had experienced, from the fear...

She had been missing from her son's life for ten years. Was he safe? What was the institute doing to him? As her heart broke over and over again, reliving the moment in her head when he was taken away from her, she knew she couldn't sit here and wallow forever. She had to keep going for the sake of her son. Nate wouldn't want to see her miserable like this, he'd remind her of her mission. Of their son somewhere out in this nightmare world, lost and alone. He would help her stand, carry her if he had to, to see the mission through. She had to bring their son home. For him.

Nova stood from where she sat, looking down at Kellogg, seeing the secrets behind his eyes that would decay with him. The weight of the world felt heavy on her back, crushing, suffocating, but she had no choice. Her actions were methodical as she searched Kellogg's body for anything that could help her in the long run. A few curious items, his gun, and some odd cybernetic enhancements. This man wasn't human, not like her. In another life, she might have felt pity for the man. The man that killed her husband and took her baby.

"Find anything?" Nick's voice called to her from the other side of the room as he searched the bodies of the synths that had attacked them earlier. He came out of the fight with a few scratches like Nova had, but otherwise, he was alright. He apparently didn't feel pain like she did, and he walked off the battle far easier than her. Nova had been searching Kellogg's computer, although the only thing she could find was just written confirmation on what Kellogg had told her, that Shaun was with the Institute after all.

She stood with a heavy sigh, feeling the weight of Dogmeat's body press against her bad leg. "Nothing. I'm at a loss here, Nick, I..." Her voice cracked and she bit the inside of her cheek hard.

He came up and leaned his arm on the desk, looking down at the scattered papers there and finding absolutely nothing useful. "We're in the weeds here... Damn. Alright, time to take a step back, get a fresh set of eyes on this." Nick crossed his arms and placed one of his hands on his chin. "The only person I know willing to snoop up the Institute's tail feathers is Piper."

"Diamond City it is, then." Nova turned and started walking out of the room, Dogmeat close at her heels. Nick took stride next to her, keeping his head down. He could tell she wanted nothing more than to get out of that godforsaken building, and he honestly didn't blame her. The corpses of the synths they had to kill along the way lined the halls, and they would have made Nick's skin crawl if he had any.

"You really think we can do this, Nick?" He was torn from his thoughts when he heard Nova speak. She was staring straight forward, but he could see her face wrought with fear.

"If anyone can, it's you," Nick spoke confidently. "You're the most resilient person I've seen in the Commonwealth. In my books, the Institute doesn't stand a chance."

Nova stopped just before the door, looking up at him with a genuine, sad smile. "Thanks, Nick."

"Hey, chin up. I know the night just got darker, but it won't last forever." Nick pushed the door to the outside open, holding it for Nova to exit first.

Nick almost ran into her on his way out, as Nova was staring up into the sky, her eyes wide.

It was like nothing either of them had ever seen before. An absolutely massive blimp went by, carrying smaller airships that detached and took off form it. The wind from the ships, as far as they were, was strong enough to almost knock Nick's hat off, and he had to grab it and hold it tightly to his chest. Nova just stood there, unable to comprehend what was going on.

"Holy shit..."

~~~

It had been days since Hancock had last seen Nova. Or weeks, he'd lost count. All he knew was that she left him behind, didn't trust him enough to help her find her son. She promised to come back, and she didn't. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't upset. He was used to running from things, but right now he wanted nothing more than to run back to her. He had fun, honestly, witnessing her brand makeshift goodness. Her willingness to help others despite her own needs. He felt she needed someone with her to help make the hard decisions, to help her look after herself. Not that she couldn't, he just figured she needed a push in the right direction sometimes.

Hancock tried his best to hide his disappointment, but there was one person who had noticed. Fahrenheit always notices. She could tell he had sunk himself deep into his latest obsession: the vault girl on a mission. Though she thought well of the vaultie for turning on Bobbi to help Hancock, she could tell deep down she'd be trouble if she stuck around. And now here Hancock was sometime later, sulking, and Fahrenheit was by his side to tell him her 'I told you so's'.

After some time, Hancock decided it was time to get over that little green-eyed ray of sunshine that had invaded all of his dirtiest thoughts. He didn't know why he hadn't tried earlier. Perhaps he was holding out for that one time she'd touch him again and not stop, to keep going until their bodies were on top of one another. He craved it, but as much she touched him, she never lingered. Probably due to the fact that he was a Ghoul, after all, and she previously had a husband with all of his skin intact. Someone like her wouldn't want to settle.

Hancock made himself comfortable in the VIP lounge in the Third Rail. He reclined on one of the couches, making himself comfortable, a delicious high coursing through his veins and dulling the pain that seeped into his bones over the years. Magnolia's voice wafted through the air like thick perfume, echoing through the small back room. He wasn't in there alone, he had someone almost hanging off his arm. She was a drifter, someone he'd been with before the last time she rolled into town. Fuck if he remembered her name, though.

Fahrenheit was sitting on the opposite side of the room, cleaning her gun, ignoring the heavy petting the drifter woman was doing to Hancock. She was thoroughly drunk, and she lazily slid her hand along his chest, dipping into his shirt, touching him over his rough skin. Hancock appreciated the feeling, though it all left him wanting. Wanting of more. More touching, more fucking, more of this woman, more of the woman he couldn't have. Though, he was doing this to forget Nova. In that instance, he wished he forgot her name the way he did the drifter that was now snaking her hand down into his pants.

Fahrenheit had seen enough. With a disgusted sneer, she kicked herself up off the chair where she was sitting and left the room. She'd wait for him outside, the way she usually did when he decided to get freaky with a rando. He didn't pay any mind to her show, and instead just laid back, enjoying the lazy touching the drifter did on his slowly hardening cock. This is just what he needed after all that time out on the road, all the pain that lingered on his skin, and then waiting for someone he was sure wasn't coming for him...

Just outside of the VIP lounge, Fahrenheit left her boss to fuck in peace. She wasn't being paid enough to put up with his shit half the time. She was about to make herself comfortable on one of the couches just outside when she spotted the blue suit she had seen only once before. There was that vault girl, the one that Hancock had been so pissy about leaving him behind. She almost stumbled her way around the bar with that Synth detective following behind her. Of course she brought her dog with her. The mutt trotted up to Fahrenheit and started sniffing at her shoes, and Nova looked almost relieved when she saw who her dog had run up to.

"Looking for the boss?" Fahrenheit asked, placing her hands on her hips as Nova hobbled over. "He's in there, but I'd leave him be. He's a bit... Busy." She sneered in the direction of the lounge.

"Please, I need his help." Nova's voice was weak, barely audible over the sound of the singer at the other end of the bar. Fahrenheit could tell she was desperate, so she rolled her eyes and took a step to the side, letting her through.

"Knock yourself out. Don't say I didn't warn you, though."

In the other room, Hancock was nearly lying down now, his hat dipped down to cover his eyes. The drifter woman half lying on his chest lazily ran her hand along his prick, and despite the throbbing pain in his spine and the dull ache in his head, Hancock felt content. Well, that was until he heard someone come into the room. Now, he normally wasn't shy about getting dirty in public. This wouldn't be the first time he fucked in the Third Rail. But curiosity couldn't contain itself as he wanted to see who was bold enough to walk in on him at that moment.

And as if some divine force was trying to spite him, _she_ walked through the door. Like a blue sky coming through on a cloudy day, her jumpsuit stood out against the faded wallpaper and red neon lights that lined the room. Hancock sat up, pushing his hat back father onto his head, the buzz of the jet in his brain becoming an afterthought now. The woman clinging to Hancock slumped down as he sat up, her head falling into his armpit as she was too stoned to hold her head up anymore.

"Well, if it isn't the vault dweller come back to see little ole' me," Hancock said, his voice rough and gravely from his chem usage. He kicked his feet out in front of him, crossing his legs at his ankles, and stared down Nova as she stood, leaning against the wall, one hand resting on Dogmeat's back. He was angry at her for leaving him behind, but he couldn't hide the toothy smirk on his face as he looked at her body, clad in that tight-fitting suit he fell so hard for.

"Shut your yap, Hancock, we're not here to bump gums," Nick spoke on Nova's behalf. He noticed that and considered it odd, and then immediately forgot his observation. "We need your help with... Personal business." He motioned towards the woman half asleep while draped across Hancock's lap, her hand quite obviously shoved into his pants.

Hancock noticed this too. "Any way you can come back later?" He wanted those two gone so he could ride out the rest of his high in peace.

"No." Nova's voice cracked when she spoke, and this brought Hancock back down to earth. He got a good look at her now, seeing her tired frame slumped over against the wall. She looked broken.

"Alright..." Hancock decided that it would be best not to fight them. He nudged the tired woman for her to get up. "Hop on outta here, babe, I got mayoral duties to attend to." She spoke something unintelligible and wiped her face onto his coat. Her hand squeezed his cock tight before pulling out of his pants, teasing him one last time and leaving him throbbing. Fuck, Hancock knew this was gonna be a bad idea. Why should he have to give up his good night for these two? He watched the woman he didn't know the name of stagger out of the room, and he doubted she would make it to her room before passing out. He'd have to send someone to fetch her later.

"So... You ever get your son back?" Hancock knew the answer, and Nova just stared him down, not bothering to grace him with a response. "Sorry. Alright, whadda ya want?"

"We need you to make some introductions for us," Nick said, once again speaking for Nova who was oddly quiet. Last Hancock saw her, she was much louder, much more outspoken, and wearing more clothes. She probably took them off just to tease him. Well, to her benefit, it was working, but Hancock wasn't going to let that get to him. Though, what unnerved Hancock was that she was just staring at him, unblinking, with no emotion in her face. _That_ freaked him out.

"I know there's a Doctor here in this city," Nick continued. "Dr. Amari over in the Memory Den. We need you to get her to lend us a hand."

"Doc Amari? What in the world do you need her for?"

Nova took a step forward, wincing hard as she did. "Hancock, I got a dead guy's brain in my back pocket, can we get this show moving?"

What the fuck was this woman up to now? He stood and crossed the room to her, looking down at Nova with dark eyes, getting an exhilarating rush as he did. His senses were heightened for a multitude of reasons. Being a Ghoul dulled some and heightened others. The mentats making everything seem so vivid right then. It took more to get him high than it did before he turned, but the experience was like no other. Nova's scent was strong, he had noticed as he got closer to her that her face was slick with sweat that licked at her skin, giving her an alluring musk that drove him mad. Hancock stood over her, breathing her in, his lips parted slightly in the ecstasy of her aroma. He watched as a bead of sweat dripped down her neck and he wanted nothing more than to grab her throat, lick the sweat off her skin, to hear the little noises she would make as he did. Instead, she looked up at him with heavy lids, barely moving. As much as he wanted to ravage her, he couldn't keep denying something was wrong.

"I need your help, Hancock." Nova's voice was small, barely making it to his ears as she looked up at him. He saw, hidden among the veil of exhaustion, desperation in her eyes. Hancock grit his teeth, knowing he was too far deep to deny her. He hadn't known her for long, but he liked the vault dweller. He didn't owe her his kindness, she earned it, and he wasn't about to let her down.

Hancock opened his mouth to speak, but Nick interrupted him. "Jesus, Hancock, have a little decency, will ya?" Nick gave an exasperated sigh as he stepped back, averting his eyes from the Ghoul. Hancock didn't know what he was talking about and cocked his eyebrow up. Though, he soon realized, as Nova's eyes traveled downwards.

His dick, still hard as a rock, had been pulled out of the waist of his pants and was hanging out for all to see. He spat out a few curses as he stepped back, grabbing at his belt and fixing himself. Hancock looked back at Nova who, had she been any shorter than she was, would have gotten a face full of his dick. He honestly didn't know if he should have been offended himself, though, as she had been staring at him the entire time, looking utterly unimpressed.

"If you're done being crude," Nick spoke again, giving Hancock an incredulous look. "Our little deadly dame over here wasn't kidding. She went in to face Kellogg and came out carrying him in pieces. Now we got part of his brain that could tell us everything we need to know about finding her son. So we're gonna need you to sober up and help us out real quick-like."

"Head on upstairs. I'll meet you in a sec," Hancock grumped, refusing to look either of them in the face. Great. He waited until they were both out of the room before he dropped his face into his hands, pressing his fingers into his eyes and rubbing hard. After a moment he convinced his feet to start moving, but he didn't follow them up the stairs and out of the bar just yet.

Hancock saw the drifter from before slumped over the bar, obviously passed out. He found Fahrenheit and gave her the job of finding someone to take her to the hotel where she could safely sleep off her hangover. He then ducked behind the bar, squeezing past Whitechapel Charlie, to get to a small cooler hidden underneath the bar. Ice was a rare commodity in the Commonwealth, and Hancock was lucky someone had found him an ice maker for his drinks. Some extra caps got a person a nice, cold beer in the summer. He pulled a frosted glass bottle out of the cooler and finally headed out, up the steps, past the entrance to the bar.

Nick looked over when Hancock strolled up, and Nova was staring off into space somewhere in the corner of the room. "You look like you're having a rough time, figured you could use this." He said, holding the bottle out towards her. Her eyes moved towards him first before her head did, and then her gaze drifted towards the glass he held out towards her.

Upon realizing the bottle was ice cold, Nova's eyes widened slightly. Hancock popped the cap off and tucked it away in his pocket before handing the drink over. She took the bottle into her hand and threw her head back, downing the contents in a matter of seconds. Both Hancock and Nick stood there speechless as they watched her. When finished, Nova pressed the still-cold bottle to the side of the face, the condensation mixing with her sweat, and she let out a small sigh of relief.

"Ready to head out?" Nick asked Nova. She gave him a small nod, pressing the bottle to the other side of her face for a moment before handing it off to Hancock, who then handed it off to the bouncer nearby.

Luckily where they were headed wasn't that far off, literally just across the street. Still, being as close as it was, Hancock still took his sweet time walking the two of them there, falling in step with Nova as she walked. He wanted to ask her if, after this, she'd want him to come with her again, but now didn't feel like the right time to ask. He kept glancing at her, watching her pull the neck of her vault suit open, letting the cold autumn air in to cool her skin.

"Your bodyguard seemed kind of upset," Nova said suddenly, surprising Hancock with the sudden banter.

"Who, Fahr? I guess she's just tired of my bullshit after all this time." He answered honestly. His hands were shoved deep into his pockets as he tried to keep his eyes ahead instead of on her.

"I didn't know the two of you were together."

Hancock opened the door of the Memory Den and the two men let her walk in first, following close behind. Hancock shut the door and paused there, glancing around to make sure there weren't others to hear.

"I'm gonna let you in on a little secret," Hancock leaned back against the door and bent at the waist slightly to get closer to Nova's ear. "That little spitfire back there is actually my daughter." He saw, for the first time that night, as emotion flashed across Nova's face, questioning, curious. He couldn't help but smirk at her. "I didn't know until a couple of years ago, actually. She walked right into Goodneighbor, came right up to me, and told me she'd been lookin' for me. Normally, I'd be flattered, but the next thing she did was punch me square in the jaw."

Nova let out a weak laugh. "Did you deserve it?"

"Hell yeah, I did." Hancock smiled. "Some of the Neighborhood watch pulled her off me and were about to throw her out before I stopped them. Once I let her explain herself, it all made sense though. Twenty-some years ago, I had a fling with this chick, don't even remember her name. I had no idea she got knocked up until Fahrenheit came into Goodneighbor with guns blazing."

"What made you believe she was telling the truth?"

"That's 'cause she got my good looks. Mirror image of me, down to the freckles and the crooked nose."

Nova tilted her head and stared up at him, trying to imagine him with a nose... and skin. "I can imagine you were quite handsome, then."

Hancock leaned forward, getting closer to her face. "What, you don't like my 'King of the zombies' look?"

"Hancock, you're the sexiest Ghoul I ever met." A smirk tugged at the corners of Nova's mouth, her lips parting slightly. Just then, Hancock had an absolutely overwhelming desire to kiss her. He stared at her plump lips, and despite being chapped and cracked, he wanted nothing more than to lose himself in them. He was weighing his options and deciding whether or not to just go for it, when he saw the beady yellow eyes of Nick Valentine standing behind Nova, watching him over her shoulder.

"Just don't let what I said get out," Hancock finally spoke, standing up straight again. "Don't want word going around she's mine. It'll put a target on her back, ya know?"

Nova made a motion of zipping up her lips, making him chuckle. Hancock kicked himself off the door and lead them down the hall. Nova finally got a good look at the place, walls lined with posters advertising dancing women. This is the kind of place she liked to frequent back when she was single, back before Nate. She was almost sure she had been here at least once before the war, but after all that time on ice, the pain, the chems, her memory was starting to get foggy of life from before...

There was a big, velvet-lined room, and a gorgeous woman lounging at the other end. Nova didn't know where to look first; at the odd-looking pods that lined the room, holding people that looked dazed, staring at screens she couldn't see. Or the woman who looked plucked out of a pinup magazine who tore her own eyes away from her TV screen to watch the three enter the building.

"Well well well, if it isn't my two favorite boys." The blonde woman lounging in a pristine silk dress said, her eyes traveling back and forth between the two men. "It's been ages since either of you have come to visit me, you know." She pouted her perfectly puffy lips. Was she wearing lipstick? Where in the wasteland did she find lipstick?

"May have walked out of the den, Irma, but I'd never walk out on you," Nick said to her, straightening his tie as he did.

She clicked her tongue at him. "You flirt. And what about you, Hancock? What's your excuse this time?"

"Go ahead and make one up for me, will ya?" He winked at Irma, flashing his charismatic grin. "I'm actually here on business today. Here to see the Doc."

"Amari?" Irma's lips curled into a smile. She waved her hand in the direction of a staircase. "She's downstairs. You boys come back and see me again sometime, you hear?"

Nova felt the eyes of the blonde woman bore into her back as they went around her to the staircase. The throbbing pain had been getting worse again, and she did her best to hide that fact as she limped down the steps. Dogmeat whined as he sniffed at her leg, sniffing the spot covered in bandages. Hancock saw this and shuffled over to her side with the bad leg. He didn't say anything, but he held out his arm for her to take. Nova didn't look up at him, just quietly took his arm and leaned her weight into him as they descended. Now was not the time to ask questions, but he desperately wanted to.

At the bottom of the steps, they entered into a somewhat clean looking room with more of those pods. Hancock let Nova stand on her own and he strolled up to the woman at the other end of the room. She had her backs to them, working on some sort of terminal. She wore a doctor's coat and had her long hair tied up tight on her head.

"Hey there, Doc, you got time for a house call?" Hancock asked, his hands in his pockets, as he stared down at the woman.

She turned, her eyes squinted as she studied the three of them. "And what is it you want now, Mayor Hancock?" She asked politely, yet with a strained voice.

"Got a friend here who needs your help." Hancock motioned back towards Nova, who was leaning against Dogmeat again.

"I need the memories from a man named Kellogg," Nova explained. "But, he's dead..."

"I know it's asking for a miracle, Doctor, but I've heard you've pulled off the impossible before," Nick spoke up.

"Are all of you mad?" Amari suddenly spoke up, rather loudly, making Nova's head raddle. "Putting aside the fact that you're asking me to _defile a corpse_ , you do realize that my memory simulators require intact, _living_ brains to function?"

"Please," Nova pleaded. "I was told that you're the only one who can make this work. My son is missing, his life is at stake here. This man was the only one who knows where the institute is, where my son is. I need this, I-" Nova took a step forward and almost fell. Before Hancock could step in, Nick was there to catch her and get her back up on her feet. Hancock felt a pain in his chest, seeing her so pathetic like this. He should have been there with her this whole time, to help her.

Doing what he could now, Hancock turned back to Dr. Amari. "Come on, Doc. Just give it a shot. Just consider this your debt paid to me, and we'll call it even."

Amari's eyebrows raised, staring at Hancock as she thought hard, then sighed. "Fine, I'll take a look. But no guarantees. Do you... Have it with you?"

Nova searched through a bag tied to her belt and pulled out a small glass jar. She was right, Hancock thought, she really did have a brain in her pocket. It was a weird lump of bleeding flesh, curled in on itself. Wires stuck out of it every which way. It looked like a complete nightmare and Hancock took a step back to avoid touching it as Nova handed it over.

"What the hell is this? This isn't a brain." Amari opened the jar and took out the bleeding lump with her bare hands. She turned it over, examining it thoroughly. "This is... wait... That's the hippocampus! And this thing attached to it? A neural interface?"

"Those circuits look awfully familiar." Nick grumped under his breath.

"I'm not surprised. From what I've seen, all institute technology has a similar architecture."

"The fuck does that mean?" Hancock said, looking between the others, utterly confused.

"What it _means_ ," Amari hissed at Hancock. "Is that I can use this." She suddenly walked behind Nick and pulled the collar of his coat back, getting a good look at where his spine met his neck. Nick was a little shocked at her abrupt nature but didn't argue. "You're an older generation synth. But, Institute technology being what it is... This brain implant could fit you." She stepped back around to the front of him, looking between Nick and Nova. "But, this will be an incredible risk to take. We're talking about wiring something into your brain."

"Don't worry about me," Nick spoke up, glancing over at Nova. "I'm well past my warranty date, anyway." 

"Nick I-" Nova stuttered. "I don't know. We don't know if this would work, or-"

"Hey," Nick cut her off. "We got a missing kid on the line, here. I'd say that's worth the risk." Nova took an unsteady step towards Nick and wrapped her arms around him. He was surprised at first, not knowing what to do. After a beat, he wrapped his arms around Nova, letting her hug him tightly. "We'll get your son back. Promise." He spoke in a low voice to her.

Hancock felt that pain in his chest again.

Nova pulled away from Nick and let the doctor get to work. He sat down in an old chair and took his hat off, letting Amari poke at the wires at the base of his skull. Nova pulled a cigarette out of her pocket and stuffed it between her lips. She had her lighter in a shaky hand and tried to flick the flame to life. Her fingers were trembling, and with each click, the sparks would appear and die out. Hancock, watching her struggle with the lighter, gently placed his hand on top of hers. Taking the lighter from her, he took it upon himself to bring the flame to life and light the cigarette she held between her teeth. She looked at him and thanked him quietly.

With the flame so close to her face, Hancock saw in more detail just how bad she looked. The circles under her eyes were dark purple, sunken in, and tired. The hair that haloed her face clung to her skin, the sweat dripping off her brow and down her cheeks. She looked pale, as if the blood had all drained away. Her hands had felt clammy when he touched them, and he wanted to take it into his again. This was no place for her to be right now, but there was nothing he could do about it.

"There's a lock on the memories on the implant," Amari spoke, and both Hancock and Nova turned to her.

"Wait, what?" Nova asked.

"The institute implemented a failsafe, I can't get through." Amari sounded impatient, as if she was repeating herself. Apparently they just hadn't been listening to her. "Now, this encryption is too strong for a single mind, but perhaps, if we were to use two..."

Without a word, Nova handed her cigarette over to Hancock and stepped forward.

"Alright, then," Amari said. "We'll load the two of you into the memory loungers. Run your cognitive functions in parallel. He'll act as a host, while your consciousness drives through whatever memories we can find."

"Let's get started, then."

"I'll see you on the other side." Nick stood up and placed his hand on Nova's shoulder. He crossed the room to the farther pod, letting her take the one closest to her. She refused help as she sat down into the pod, hands gripping tightly onto the plush seat between her legs.

Hancock locked eyes with her just as the pod closed. He really hoped she'd be alright...

~

Nova didn't like this. Her entire body was tensed and her heart thumped loudly inside her ears. She hated confined spaces. She couldn't even stand stairwells if the walls were too close together. Now she was in this strange pod, about to have her brain poked by someone she had never met before? She was beginning to panic. If it weren't for the glass roof to this, she would have screamed. To keep herself grounded, to keep from falling apart completely, she looked at Hancock. His dark eyes never tore away from hers, and she was so thankful for that.

She was so thankful she had him here with her. She never should had left him behind when she went to fight Kellogg, but she was afraid. Afraid he might get hurt- or die- because of her. She couldn't let that happen. She had grown close to him in their short time together. Finding friends in the Commonwealth was harder than she had originally thought. She could count on one hand the people she actually trusted in this future. Preston, Piper, Codsworth, the dog... And now she had Nick, too, by her side. She saved Nick's life, and since then, he's been nothing but kind to her. Nova felt a connection to Nick, a sort of bond she couldn't quite place. She truly did value him as a friend.

But Hancock, he was different. He was loud, visceral, and real. So real. His face was a constant reminder of where she was at all times, but she wasn't frightened of him. Instead, he brought her a sense of calmness she hadn't been able to feel before meeting him. He knew the ways of this horror her world had become, and he kept her safe, grounded. She promised herself, staring up at him from that too-small pod, that she'd never send him away again. As long as he'd let her, she would want to keep him around.

"Initiating brain-wave migration between the transplant and the host." Amari's voice came out of a speaker that was too close to Nova's ears and it made her jump. "Are you ready to begin?"

"Yeah..." Nova said hesitantly. She wasn't exactly sure of just how this was working, but when her vision started to turn white, she knew it had begun.

Nova was nervous. Anyone would be when they had someone picking around in their brain, putting new memories where they didn't belong. It wasn't long until she felt herself stumbling, running through someone else's mind, trying to make sense of it all. Dr. Amari's voice came to her, echoing through the walls of her head, as if she were in some sort of dream. Amari directed her where to go, fed her memories one by one.

It was odd, seeing Kellogg from this point of view. Amari had explained that it would be confusing, but the story that was unfolding made enough sense. Kellogg grew up poor, to a family of indifference and anger. Nova could relate. She waded through his memories, watching him grow. He had a family, not unlike hers. A wife and an infant daughter he was trying so hard to protect... Nova had considered that she and Kellogg actually hadn't been that different, really. The only thing was, that she was born before the war, and him after.

She stood back and watched as Kellogg tried so hard to provide for his family. To keep them safe, and happy. She watched as he tried to help them. To save them. And ultimately, they ended up dying. It could have been that since their brains were connected, that the grief-struck her the same. But soon she realized she had to stop. To stop empathizing with the man that killed her husband. And she would be reminded of that fact soon enough, the longer she stayed running around in his memories.

Rusted metal walls began to fade away, and were instead replaced by white ones with a fresh coat of paint. It was odd, but a strange wave of nostalgia hit her as the dim light in the middle of the room faded in. The scene sharpened before her, a cold metal table sat in the center of a dark room, four people, two on each side, were sitting across from each other. She knew where she was, and who these people were. This was a police interrogation room from over 200 years ago, and Nova was one of the four people sitting at that table.

Nova saw her own face at that table. The white blotches of skin on her face was covered in makeup to match the rest of her dark skin. She always did that when she was on the job. Her face was stone cold and emotionless, as this was back when she used to take antidepressants to help regulate her emotions. The other faces at the table cleared as well. The person sitting next to Nova was a black kid, no older than twelve. He had his hands handcuffed on the table and he looked down into his lap, saying nothing. The other two that sat across from them were both white men, mid-forties, and both wore police badges.

"Come on, kid," One of the officers said. Nova couldn't quite remember what his face looked like, so his features were mostly blurry. "Admit that you were the one that stole Mrs. Robinson's car. You were in the neighborhood that night. Thought you'd go for a little joy ride, right?"

"Sir, my client was at home." Nova's voice spoke up. It was odd, standing at a distance and also watching herself speak. Her brain couldn't make sense of everything at first. "He has three separate witnesses that put him in his own home and nowhere near the crime scene."

"Oh don't bullshit, lady," The faceless cop spat. "He fits the witness' description to a T."

"The witness described a tall black man wearing a college letterman jacket. The only thing tying my client to your witness is the color of his skin. He doesn't even know how to drive."

The faceless cop slammed his hands down onto the table, making the young boy jump, but Nova did not flinch. "That kid stole a car! He is a menace and needs to be locked up!" He yelled straight into the boy's face as he shrunk down into his chair, visibly shaken.

"DiMino, stop!" The second cop at the table stood up and grabbed the other by the shoulder. This face Nova made out more clearly. He looked older, his hair was brown and greying along his sideburns. His skin was sagging in places, and although he didn't seem to be older than forty, he looked as though he had seen a lot in his time on the force. With just one look, he caused the belligerent cop to back off and sit back down into his chair. The Nova at the table met the man's eyes, silently thanking him for his help.

"This can't be right, where is this memory coming from?" Amari's voice reverberated off the walls of Nova's head. "Let me try to get things back on track..."

And she actually did. Nova was now watching an older Kellogg get propositioned by a woman wearing white. She didn't have a fleck of dirt on her, which was a very stark difference from the man that stood on the other side of the room. There were synths as well, older ones where the exposed wires were almost frightening to Nova. She watched as Kellogg effortless killed the synths as they were ordered to attack. He was deadly, and Nova already knew that, seeing as how she already murdered the man.

Nova's vision faded from one image to the next, and suddenly she was pulled out of time once more. Now, she stood in the middle of the floor of a large, packed courtroom. There were reporters everywhere, flashing pictures and trying to get as close as they could with their cameras. Nova was with her client again at the table, the boy looking slightly older, and Nova's eyes looking heavy. Looking back on it, Nova remembered that this was her first case since she left the army and became a lawyer. The case with the car thief went on for months, the woman who got her car stolen started a smear campaign against the boy, convinced it was him. There were racial slurs being thrown around, and it was dangerous for Nova's client to be on his own. He needed a police escort going to and from school, and when strangers started showing up at the boy's house to look for him, Nova and Nate gave him a place to stay until things started to blow over for him.

The judge that sat above the room cleared his throat and stood, his voice in Nova's memory was muffled, but she could clearly make out the words, "Not guilty." Immediately afterward, the rest of the courtroom erupted into angry shouts and yelling. White men and women began throwing balled-up bunches of paper at Nova and her client, and she shielded him with her body as they started throwing heavier objects at them.

The cop from the previous memory came over, the one who de-escalated the situation before came to do it again. He defended them against the angry mob, and helped shuffle the two of them out of the courtroom to safety. That cop followed them all the way home as the memory shifted to outside Nova's house. Her front door. Her client was inside, his mother with him. They were hugging and crying, relieved that he wasn't going to jail for a crime he didn't commit, but were now afraid of the people who convinced themselves that he was guilty. Nate stood at the front door, his arms crossed as he leaned on the door frame. He smiled at Nova before heading on inside to make dinner for the four of them. Nova was out on her front lawn, standing in front of the cop.

"Thank you for your help back there, Officer Valentine." Nova's voice spoke from the well-dressed woman from her memory. Wait, officer-

"Please, just call me Nick," A smile pulled at his tired face, and Nova finally remembered who he was.

Nova watched herself and the officer in the memory, and then suddenly turned to see the synth Nick standing next to her, watching the same scene.

"I knew you looked familiar, just couldn't put my finger on it 'till now." Synth Nick didn't bother looking over at her, his yellow eyes were fixated on the scene before them.

"I can't believe it," Nova said, looking between the synth and the real person. "But-but how?"

"That guy right there offered to have his memories uploaded for experimentation," Nick explained, finally turning towards the present-day Nova. "That's where I get my winning personality from. I owe my life to him, and his memories."

Nova turned back towards the memory that both of them shared. "I like your spirit, kid," The human Nick said. "You defend the people who need it the most. If anyone on the force tries to give you trouble, you come to me, alright?"

"Thank you," Said Nova from the past. "I just wanna make this a better world, you know? Not just for him, but my own son, as well." She placed a hand on her stomach and smiled. This wasn't long after she found out she was pregnant with Shaun. After this, she would end up working on various cases, defending clients she knew were innocent and going to Nick for help whenever she experienced push-back from other policemen or departments. She kept on working until she was almost about to give birth in the courtroom when Nate finally convinced her to stop. She would end up giving birth the third day after she started maternity leave.

"I'm sorry this keeps happening," Amari's voice rang out again as the scene before them faded into darkness. "I'll get us all back on track, hold on."

Once again, Nova was alone. Diving back into Kellogg's memories, she walked forward until her feet hit metal. She looked around, not recognizing the area at first, until it hit her like a ton of bricks. Nova's stomach dropped when she realized she was back in the vault. She watched as a spectator as Kellogg and the woman in the hazmat suit approached Nate's cryopod, where he and Shaun slept.

Nova started to panic. She couldn't watch this again, she had to do something. She leapt at Kellogg the moment he lifted his gun. Unfortunately, being that this was only a memory, her body faded right through his, and she only watched with horror as her husband got shot, and their baby was stolen. Nova was reduced to a crying mess on the floor, alone in the darkness, as the scene faded out.

"I'm so sorry," Amari's voice spoke, the only comfort Nova had. "Please, we have to keep moving. I think this next memory may be it."

With all the power she had, Nova stood up. She walked forward into the darkness, clinging onto whatever hope she had left to find her boy. This time, it was back in Diamond City. The house she and Nick had broken into while searching for Kellogg. He was there, sitting on a chair and sharpening a knife. Then, she spotted him.

A boy, a young boy who looked about ten years old. She knew instantly this was her son. Throwing herself to the ground, she tried to touch him but couldn't. Shaun was sitting on the floor, reading an old comic book. Oh god, he looked so much like his father. His hair was thin and soft, just like Nate's, but black like Nova's. His eyes were green, just like hers. The same shape too, large, round, and so full of life. She couldn't believe that this was her son. He had grown up so much without her, seen so much of this horribly rough world without her there to protect him. Nova, with hot tears running down her face, would beg for his forgiveness the moment she found him.

"Kellog," A strange voice pulled Nova from her thoughts. She stood up and whipped around, seeing a tall man in a black trench coat and sunglass just stroll in through the front door. From what she could make out, he was most likely from the institute.

"One of these days you're gonna get your head blown off, just barging in here like that," Kellogg said.

Nova stayed by the memory version of her son as she watched the stranger walk up to Kellogg. They spoke to one another about business, about a scientist that had escaped. Nova wanted to make sure neither of the men came close to her boy, even though he technically wasn't really there.

"So... I guess you're taking the kid back with you," Kellogg spoke, and Nova's entire body tensed up.

"Affirmative. Your only mission is to locate and eliminate Virgil." The stranger spoke in such a way that Nova was convinced he was a synth. But, how did he look so human? Did they really blend in that well?

"You're taking me home to my father?" The young Shaun said, and Nova's heart nearly broke. He was so young and innocent.

"Yes, stand next to me and hold still." The synth said as he walked over to a corner of the room. Nova wanted to stop him from touching her boy, but she couldn't. Instead, Shaun willingly got up from where he was sitting and approached the synth all too willingly.

"Bye, Mr. Kellogg!" Shaun said with a bright smile that looked just like Nate's. "I hope I see you again soon."

In a blinding flash of light, both Shaun and the synth disappeared, being ported away to god knows where. Nova was left breathless as static filled the air and dissipated, leaving empty air where her son had just stood.

"Teleportation!" Dr. Amari's voice rang out as the scene before her instantly faded. "Now it all makes sense. Nobody's found the entrance to the institute because there is no entrance. Let me pull you out of there-"

~

With a painful gasp, Nova's consciousness was ripped from the memories and thrust back into her body. She was feeling faint, her head impossibly dizzy as her vision slowly started to fade back to reality. She touched the glass surrounding her, trying to push it away. She was far too closed in and she was desperate for air. Slowly, the top of the pod she was in had lifted, and she fell forward as she scrambled to get out. A pair of hands reached up to meet her, catching her as she fell.

Hancock was there, kneeling on the ground next to her, his arms around her waist to keep Nova from falling face-first onto the floor. "I got you, Sunshine, you're alright." He said to her, trying to calm her down. Nova's mind was running wild, trying to make sense of the entire ordeal she just went through.

"Slow movements, okay?" Amari said as she came over to check on Nova. "I don't know what side effects the procedure might have had. No one's ever... done this before. Are you feeling okay?"

Nova looked up at her, and by the surprised look on the doctor's face, she could tell she didn't look good. Despite Hancock's protests, she tried to push him away and stand on her own, but she couldn't. Her entire body was trembling violently, and sweat dripped in buckets down her body.

She opened her mouth to say something, but suddenly, everything went black.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be a link to youtube later in this fic. Click it and listen to the song if you wanna sing along.

The world faded in and out for Nova. She could see small glimpses of light and catch the tail end of conversations, but that was about it.

"Doc, what's wrong with her?" She heard Hancock ask, panic laced in his voice.

"What do you mean? I'm not that kind of doctor." Amari said back, and Nova blacked out again.

~

The next thing she knew she was being jostled around as if she was being manhandled by someone incredibly strong. Her body was placed down onto hot pavement, and she could see sunlight through her eyelashes as she tried to open her eyes. Distant gunfire was heard, screaming, shuffling around, and then loud bangs that echoed through her skull. She felt herself being lifted, thrown over someone's shoulder, and then nothing.

~

The next time she came to, she still couldn't open her eyes. She was lying down, her body overheating, but also incredibly cold. Hold on, is she dying? Is this what happens when you die? She wasn't in pain anymore, her head could barely process what was going on around her, let alone the pain of it all. Again, she heard distant talking, unable to make out any of it.

She was able to make out voices, though. The first was Piper's. She was loud, and her voice was hard to miss. Nova couldn't tell what she was saying, but she sounded worried. Was it because she was dying? She didn't think she'd be missed that much... Nick was talking with her, though his voice was much quieter than hers. Nova could barely make him out over the ringing in her ears. But, where was Hancock in all this? She couldn't hear him. Did he leave? She would have liked to hear his voice one last time...

A rough hand touched her cheek. It was warm, comforting, and trailed along her jawline as if he had done it a thousand times. That was Hancock, she knew it. Nova wanted to reach out and take his hand, but she couldn't move. Oh well, at least he was there. Maybe he, Piper, and Nick would continue their search for Shaun after she's gone. They'd tell him stories about her, right? She should have asked them to before she got into this mess... Oh well. At least she'd be with Nate again.

Suddenly, an overwhelming pain echoed it's way through her body, making her see white. Once again, she blacked out.

~

The first thing Nova noticed as she woke up again was a throbbing, dull pain through her entire body. Her head swam and ears rang, but slowly, she began to open her eyes. She felt as though she had the absolute worst possible hangover. What the fuck had even happened? Ever so slowly, the world started to make sense again, and colors and shapes started solidifying in her vision. The room was filled with warm light, and she could hear the pattering of raindrops on the tin roof of the house she was in.

Nova could tell she was lying down, on a bed or a couch, something soft at least. When she tried to move she realized she couldn't, and to keep herself from panicking again, Nova searched around the room with her eyes. Sitting right across from her was someone in a red coat. She couldn't tell if it was Piper or Hancock, and she desperately tried to blink away the haziness from her eyes to be able to tell.

Luckily, that question was soon answered for her. "Hancock, would you get your dirty boots off my fucking table?" Piper's voice spoke up from somewhere unseen in the room.

"Suck my dick, Piper, just leave me alone for a goddamn minute, will ya?" Hancock sounded more than annoyed. He lounged back on the couch with his feet on the coffee table. He had a knife in his hand and was examining it thoroughly.

"Listen, I don't want you here any more than you wanna be here. So just try and be civil and just do what I tell you!" Piper was yelling now, cursing Nova's head to throb so hard she saw stars.

"We both know there's no being civil with you." Hancock kept his eyes focused on his knife and began twirling it in his fingers. Nova would be impressed if she weren't immobilized and in excruciating pain.

"I'm only gonna say this one more time, Hancock, so listen to me-" Piper was cut off as Hancock reeled his arm back and threw the knife as hard as he could straight past Piper's head. The blade stuck deep into the wooden frame of the building, leaving Piper speechless as she had almost been killed by the Ghoul. "Oh, that is _it_."

Piper then lunged at Hancock, going straight for his throat. He put his arms up in his defense, trying to keep himself from being strangled by her. She just managed to reach the hem of his coat and grabbed it, pulling him off the couch. He resisted, causing them both to tumble to the floor.

"Hey, would you two quit it? You're acting like children." Nick Valentine's voice called out from the other side of the room.

"Yeah, you're just a bunch of kids!" That last voice, Nova was sure it was Nat.

Piper threw a punch at Hancock's face, knocking his hat off in the process. In return, Hancock grabbed Piper and threw her backward, causing her to roll back into the couch where Nova was lying. She hit her head on the frame of the couch and brought her hand up to rub the sore spot. Just then, Nova had somehow found the strength to throw her arm up and over Piper's shoulder, scaring the poor girl half to death.

"Would you two... Please shut up..." Nova barely managed to say, her voice rough and weak.

"Blue!" Piper shouted despite Nova's throbbing headache. She picked herself up to stand, grabbing onto Nova's hand with both of hers.

Hancock's heart nearly stopped when he realized Nova was awake, and he clumsily crawled over to where she lay, placing his hand gently onto the top of her head. She heard Nick stumble over too to see what was going on. Being surrounded by all these people like this wasn't good, and she used whatever strength she had left to put her arms up and push Piper and Hancock back so she had room to breathe.

"How long have I been out? Not another sixteen hours, I hope." Nova asked Hancock. He was sitting there, staring at her with his big, black eyes, and she held out her hand for him to take. Just him, no one else.

Hancock reached forward and took it gladly, but sat back on his heels to still give her space. "Oh, no, not at all. More like... Six days."

Nova found the strength to lift her head, and she saw Piper flinch towards her, but not reach out. "What'd I miss?"

"Ah, yeah, well, that's gonna be a little hard to explain." Piper stammered out, her fingers lacing together as she looked anywhere but at Nova's face. "So, you see, your blood kinda went toxic back when you were in Goodneighbor. You had that injury on your leg and all. Well, it kinda got really bad and we had to... Chop your leg off-"

"Piper!" Nick yelled at her. He walked over, grabbing her by the collar of her shirt and pulling her backward.

"What?! Are we just not supposed to tell her?"

Nova's eyes slowly started to widen. Her heart raced. What? Her leg? She couldn't process what was going on, her mind was running a million miles a minute. Her leg was gone? But how- why- how could they-

Hancock put both of his hands on either side of Nova's face, making her look at him and only him. His fingers were warm, trailing up into her hair, gently massaging her scalp. He stared deep into her eyes, giving her a serious look she'd never seen on him before.

"You're safe." He started, speaking clearly, plainly, and confidently to her. "You got real sick from that cut on your leg and your blood went bad. You passed out, almost died. Nick and I brought you all the way to Diamond City to get you a doctor. He saved your life, alright? He said he had to get rid of the infection at its source or else it'll spread to your heart or your brain or somethin'. So, he went ahead and removed the infected parts..."

"The infected parts, being your entire leg." Piper finished where Hancock trailed off. He looked like he wanted to punch her, and quickly stood up and walked over to where she was. Nick got between the two to keep them from fighting any more.

In a complete daze, Nova sat up and threw off the blanket that was lying across her body. There, spread across the couch was her leg. Just one, and a stump where the other should have been. The leg of her vault suit was rolled up and tucked in on itself, and she could clearly see her leg had been amputated just above her mid-thigh.

Nova's three friends all stopped and stared at her, watching as her face contorted from confusion to horror. They were about to jump into action to help her as Nova's breathing sped up, as she started hyperventilating. But suddenly, she stopped. Nova's breathing stopped completely and they thought she was going to pass out again, but she didn't. Instead, her face fell flat, her features slowly melting into a deadpan expression as she looked down at her missing leg. They all waited with bated breath to see what she was going to do next.

"Can I... get some water?" Nova asked, her voice now horse.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Piper said, and then quickly stepped away to go tell her sister to get some water.

Nick was the one to approach her next, sitting down on the coffee table across from Nova, leaning his elbows on his knees as he watched her face carefully. "Are you going to be alright?" He asked.

"I don't know," Nova said, surprisingly honest. "I kinda wasn't prepared for this."

"No one is." Nick pulled a cigarette from his coat pocket and lit it. He offered it to Nova, who took it almost mechanically. Though she didn't let the emotion show on her face, the way she puffed on that cigarette told him all he needed about how she was feeling. Piper came back with a carton of clean water and handed it over. As she did, Nick plucked the cigarette butt from Nova's fingers so she could drink.

While all this was going on, Hancock just stood back and watched. Nova wanted him near her. To have his hands on her, but she was physically unable to articulate exactly what she needed at that moment, so she didn't say anything.

"I'd like to be left alone for a bit if that's alright." Nova didn't look up when she spoke, just stared down at her hands, trying her best to keep her voice level.

"Alright, we'll, uh, go wait outside then," Piper said. She turned the others and pushed them outside of the building, grabbing Nat and dragging her along. She shut the door with a loud bang, echoing off the tin walls of the building. Nova's body jumped slightly at the sound, and then she was left alone.

Nova focused hard on her surroundings. Inside the building was cold, humid from the rain, and her skin felt sticky and gross, caked in dirt she wanted so desperately to wash off. She could just barely make out the sound of the others talking outside, but the rain had gotten harder and she couldn't quite make out what they were saying. There was faint barking in the distance, which had to be Dogmeat. She hadn't realized he was gone until just then, but she felt relieved to know he was still nearby. She had to focus on what was going on at that moment, to try and figure out a plan, what to do.

What she truly needed to focus on, more than anything else, was trying to find her son.

~~~

Hancock was pissed, but he wasn't in much of a position to argue. Nova had sent him away again, back to Goodneighbor, and there was nothing he could do to stop her. It wasn't as if she was choosing others over him, though, as she sent Nick away too. She had to stay with Piper, using her generosity to recover, but Hancock wasn't sure what her plan would be for the future. She promised she'd come back for him, though, and he believed her. She already came back for him once, after all.

It would be a week before he saw her again. This time, he didn't make much of a fool of himself when she strolled in on her one leg. Hancock was out talking with Daisy, flanked by his ever-loyal Fahrenheit. He was leaning on the counter of Daisy's store when Fahrenheit came over and elbowed him in the side hard enough to almost knock him over.

"Hey Hancock," Those words drifted over to his ears, making him bolt upright and turn around so fast his hat nearly fell off. There she was, blue vault shit and everything. She rested a hand on her hip, a laser pistol in the other. That dog of hers was standing at her heels and trotted up to him, begging for pets from him. Her eyes looked tired, he could tell, but she was upright, and she looked strong.

He took a good long look at her legs. She had what looked like some sort of handmade contraption she was leaning on. Pieces of metal were haphazardly bolted and screwed together, feigning the bend of a knee to make it easier to walk on. There was no foot at the bottom, but what looked like... a baseball cut open and stuffed over the end of a metal rod. He had no idea how she could walk on that thing, but she made it from Diamond City to Goodneighbor on that thing, so it had to be good enough.

"Well ain't you a sight," Hancock smirked. He sauntered over to her, looking her over again as he did.

"Was wondering if you'd be willing to lend me a hand?" She asked, leaning onto her good leg, watching him carefully.

"You sure it's a hand you're lookin' for?" The joke escaped Hancock's lips before he was able to stop himself. He instantly gritted his teeth, regretting what he said. Nova's eyes widened at him, trying so desperately to be angry, but she just couldn't. Instead, she snorted, trying her damndest to hide her laugh.

"You're a bastard. You know that?" Nova said, covering her mouth with the back of her hand. Unfortunately for her, he saw the smile in her eyes.

"Yeah, I get that a lot for some reason." Hancock was grinning now.

Nova shrugged a bag off of her shoulder and tossed it over to Hancock. "Alright, let's get going then. Carry that for me, will ya?"

"What'cha got?" He asked, opening the flap on the bag, his question answered immediately.

"Grenades." She said with a smirk. "Come on, we got a long road ahead of us."

~~~

While the road wasn't necessarily a long one, Nova was moving a low slower than she had in the past, making their trek take that much longer. She explained on the way that they'd be headed to where she faced Kellogg, that while she was there, she and Nick took down a bunch of synths. Her plan was to grab one and bring it back up to her garage up near Sanctuary so she could take it apart and use its leg as her own. Hancock wasn't so sure about this idea, but he wasn't gonna say anything about it. He's just glad she's up and moving again, her same stubborn drive pushing her forward.

"I wanna thank you," Nova said. They had taken the roads just outside the city, walking along the sidewalk at the edge of the river. The smell of the harbor was actually much better than the musk of rotting flesh coming from the city. "For taking care of me, I mean. You really carried me all the way from Goodneighbor to Diamond City?"

"'Course I did," Hancock responded, walking alongside her, his eyes kept forward, ever-present for danger. "What, you expected me to just let you die or somethin'?"

"No, I just didn't think you cared that much."

"I don't." He said rather smugly. When Nova turned to look at him quickly, he responded by putting his arm around her shoulders. "I'm kidding. You ain't half bad, you know. I figured I might wanna keep you around. Once you passed out, I just kinda threw you over my shoulder and carried you along. It helps that you're so tiny."

Nova sneered at him and pushed his arm off of her, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't appreciate his humor. "Seriously though, I owe you my life."

"I can think of a couple of different ways you can repay your favor to me," Hancock smirked at Nova as he said that. Stifling a laugh, she pushed him away from her.

The conversation died after that, but the silence between them had been comfortable. That wasn't something seen often in the Commonwealth; silence. But, just walking along the ruined road, the only sound was that of the wind, their footsteps, and the lapping of the water at the shore, it was nice enough. Hancock would never admit that he was annoyed by how slow they were going. He was doing his best to keep his pace in time with Nova's as she limped along on her new leg, but he couldn't help but fall ahead so often.

At some point, he had wandered too far ahead, realizing too late that Nova wasn't near him anymore. He turned back to see her standing only a few yards away. she had stopped walking and was instead just staring at the old, ruined, C.I.T. building nearby. She looked transfixed, her eyes large as they scanned over the dilapidated building.

"You alright?" Hancock asked as he strolled up to her.

"Yeah, I just..." She trailed off. Nova blinked and then looked up towards Hancock, her face completely unreadable. "I just remember this place from... Before. Let's get going." She started walking again, walking right past Hancock as she slowly limped along. He watched her go for a bit, looking between her missing leg and her ass. Damn, even after all this time his mind still wandered.

"You know, you could always let me know if you wanna take a little... chem break," Hancock said after walking after, falling in step at her side.

"Thanks, but I think the med-x is all I need right now." She sounded upset to admit it.

"You ever try Jet before?" He asked. The two of them watched Dogmeat walk between them, sniffing the ground, and then running ahead.

"No. That stuff smells like shit."

"That's 'cause it is." Hancock chuckled. Then he stopped walking.

Nova looked up at him questioningly, tilting her head. Suddenly, Dogmeat barked and ran back towards them. The distant beeping started after that, and Nova's entire body locked up in fear. The two of them readied their guns and Hancock stepped forward, partly in front of Nova as the beeping got louder. Yelling and incoherent gibberish could be heard as well, a group of super mutants nearby had seen Dogmeat and started running after him to their direction.

Once Hancock saw the super mutant in the distance, the red light on his arm from the mini-nuke he carried, he reached into the bag Nova had given him earlier. In one swift move, Hancock pulled out a baseball grenade and pulled the pin out with his teeth. He threw it fast and hard, directly after the mutant that was running straight towards them. Upon collision, both the grenade and the mini-nuke exploded, causing a shockwave to be thrown their way. Hancock turned his back towards the explosion, shielding Nova with his body, but luckily they were far enough away as to not be damaged. The Geiger counter on Nova's pipboy started up from the explosion but soon died away.

"Pain!" Another super mutant yelled in the distance, being caught up in the explosion. Nova and Hancock proceed forward, finding the other mutants and opening fire. Luckily, there were only two others, one of them on the ground already from the explosion. Nova took him out with a shot to the head with her laser pistol, leaving a scorching hole in the mutant's chest. The other took cover behind an old Nuka Cola machine, firing at them from a distance. The area was still filled with smoke, and it was hard to see properly, but it provided enough cover for them.

Dogmeat ran straight for the mutant, grabbing onto his arm that held his gun. Dogmeat jumped, sinking his teeth into the mutant's arm, causing him to be pulled out from where he was hiding. In the commotion, the mutant fired his gun, just barely missing Nova, but hitting her in her manufactured leg. It broke at the hinge, and she fell forward, dropping her gun. Despite being face down in the garbage on the street, she was lucky the shot hit her fake leg and not her real one.

Hancock saw her go down and immediately run over. He wasted no time in grabbing her body, lifting her up and tossing her over his shoulder. He grabbed the gun she had dropped and started firing at the mutant. He landed a few good hits on him since Dogmeat was holding him down, keeping him from escaping. The mutant suddenly kicked Dogmeat, causing him to roll backward and cry out desperately in pain. The super mutant, bleeding profusely, only able to use one arm, frantically searched for his gun to return fire.

Hancock took the opportunity to drop the laser pistol. He walked right up to the mutant, still carrying Nova over his shoulder, and pulled his shotgun from his belt. The mutant grabbed his gun, but before he even had the time to fire, Hancock fired at him, a shotgun blast full force to the face, completely obliterating a portion of his skull.

The streets were now quiet, and Hancock let himself relax finally. "You alright?" He asked as Nova attempted to push herself off his shoulder. He chuckled, holding her tightly for a moment, before letting her down. She stood shakily on one leg, holding onto him to keep her balance.

"Thanks," She said, hiding her face in his chest so he couldn't see her. "This is why I wanna get there so bad. Once I get my hands on a synth, I should have something a lot more stable."

Nova insisted they find a place to camp out for the night. Hancock didn't fight her on that, as he could clearly see the exhaustion she was trying to hide. They found an old house that had it's front door blown off, but the second story looked pretty much intact for the most part. She hopped on her one foot most of the way there, using Hancock to lean on for the most part. She was lucky, though, when Dogmeat came over, carrying the part of her makeshift leg that had gotten blown off by the gun from before.

To get her upstairs, Hancock picked Nova up into his arms, giving her the dignity of not throwing her over his shoulder this time. Upstairs there was a small bedroom, the frame of the bed was destroyed, but the mattress looked mostly intact. Once let down, Nova dragged the mattress off of the broken frame and flat onto the floor. She sat down and let Dogmeat dropped the piece of metal with the baseball on the end into her lap.

"Are you going to sleep tonight?" Nova asked as Hancock made himself comfortable in an armchair nearby. She knew he had a tendency to stay awake while she slept, but she still wanted to offer.

"Nah, I'm good. You look like death though." He said to Nova, leaning his elbow on the arm of the chair, and his head down onto his fist.

"Thanks for the compliment." Nova sneered at him. She sat on the mattress and leaned against the wall. Slowly Nova began unhooking the harness around her thigh holding on her prosthetic. She removed it and laid the leg out in front of her, pulling some tools out of the pouch on her belt to try and fix it. Hancock simply watched her while she worked, utterly fascinated with how she moved her hands. A few pieces of bent metal, some new nuts and bolts, and the leg was as good as new.

"You really are a jack of all trades," Hancock said as he just sat there, watching her.

"Gotta do whatever it takes to survive." She answered simply, not looking up at him. She tested out the joint on her prosthetic before setting it aside on the wooden floor. She was tired and her entire body hurt like a motherfucker, but she felt safe enough. Nova hated doing it, but she pulled out the Med-X from her pouch and pulled up the sleeve of her vault suit. She needed it since the pain from her leg amputated was still so great, but she had no choice. Nova had tried going without it once already but blacked out when the pain became too great. So, she injected herself with the intoxicating liquid, feeling the relief instantly enter her veins.

Nova thought sleep would come for her soon, but it didn't. Almost an hour went by and she was still awake, so she sat up and decided to keep her hands busy. Hancock was lounging in the armchair nearby still, keeping lookout incase any raiders or ferals decided to wander in. He was in the middle of sharpening a knife when he watched Nova sit up and pull some items from her bags.

"What'cha got there?" Hancock asked curiously.

"Remember that broken holotape you found a while ago?"

"No, but I'll take your word for it."

Nova tinkered with the small, broken tape. She didn't think there would be anything exciting on the tape, but she was curious nonetheless. Nova realized that the extent of the damage was more cosmetic than anything. She stuffed a couple of wires back into place, tightening a couple of screws in the circuit boards, and looked it over. It would still play, right? Curiously, she placed the tape inside the player on her pipboy and turned the sound low enough for her to just barely hear. The screen of her pipboy flashed the name "Songs That Make Me Think Of You", and she held her ear up to her wrist to listen closely.

"Hi Sarah, I hope this gets to you alright." A young woman's voice played on the tape. Her voice was soft and soothing, and it made Nova feel warm when she heard it. "I... Know you said you wanted us to just stay friends... And, with you going off and enlisting, I figured I'd send you a little gift to keep you entertained while you're away. So, here's a bunch of songs I put together that make me think of you. I hope you enjoy it..."

Nova felt almost dirty as if she was listening in to someone else's private conversation. Still, though, she became curious about the girls from the tape. The girl who made the recording made it sound as if she and Sarah had just broken up before Sarah was supposed to be shipped out to war. What year was this from? Back from when the war first started? She theorized it could have been back from when Nate got drafted as well.

[Nova's eyes lit up when the first song started playing.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFU1GeGFpzY&list=PLV3HoqewYHmmB4S1LZ0NAvYQabC1hwSSX) "Hey, come here," She beckoned for Hancock to sit beside her. He watched her curiously before hopping up from his chair and plopped down beside her on the mattress. He didn't sit particularly close to her, so Nova scooted over so their bodies were practically pressed together, and she rested her arm with the pipboy on his shoulder so he could hear the music as well.

"I've never heard this one before," Hancock said, trying to make himself comfortable with their closeness.

"My grandfather loved to play a lot of old music that he loved for me," Nova said, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "I remember this one. We used to turn the music on real loud and dance in the garage like a couple of idiots..."

"I'm sure that would have been a sight." He chuckled.

Nova rested her head against Hancock's shoulder, reveling in the warmth that radiated off of him. Her foot started tapping along to the music, and she started humming. Dogmeat looked at the two of them sitting together curiously and then walked over, draping himself over both of their laps and making himself comfortable. Hancock didn't see any way of himself escaping out from under the two of them, but being honest with himself, he really didn't want to.

Nova's humming eventually turned into quiet singing as she tried to remember the lyrics. "It's my own design, it's my own remorse. Help me to decide, help me make the most of freedom, and of pleasure. Nothing ever lasts forever. Everybody wants to rule the world..." Nova sang mostly to herself, but of course with Hancock being so close, he heard too. He didn't dare say anything, of course, and just let her go on, singing softly to the song he'd never heard before.

After some time, her singing got slower and slower, turning back into quiet hums, until the only thing Hancock heard was the sounds coming from the pipboy and Nova's quiet breathing. She had fallen asleep on his shoulder, despite how uncomfortable her position might have been. Hancock didn't want to wake her by getting up, he wouldn't dare. Instead, he put his arm around her, letting her fall down so her head was resting on his chest. He tilted his hat forward, letting it cover over his eyes.

Hancock didn't intend on falling asleep, but having the weight of Nova and the dog on top of him made him comfortable enough to drift off, and in the morning, it would be Nova who woke him instead of the other way around.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please check out all the new tags before starting this chapter. Thanks!

The two of them stood outside Fort Hagen, Hancock with his hands in his pockets, looking up at the place that had been boarded up so securely. Nova wasted no time and led him around the back, taking them up the fire escape to the roof. She counted herself lucky that the back entrance was still open, but was still hesitant about entering the elevator. On their way down she leaned against the wall, wanting to be as far away from Hancock until they were out of that confined space.

The doors opened and she pushed past him, stepping out onto the solid ground of the floor below, and immediately went looking. She kept her eyes on the floor, looking for the remains of the synths she and Nick had taken out. Hancock followed after her a ways back, peeking into every nook and cranny to see if there were any caps or chems lying around that she might have missed.

The more she searched, the more frustrated Nova became, which Hancock noticed. "What's up, Buttercup?" Hancock asked, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed as he watched Nova grow more and more frantic.

"They're not here," She said through gritted teeth. Nova was pissed now, going from room to room, digging through the trash on the floor, flipping over desks, knocking down full file cabinets. Hancock had given up trying to follow her at this point, sitting down on a rolling chair in one of the offices, leaning back with his hands behind his head. He heard her climb some stairs, her footsteps echoing on the next floor as she also tore that to shreds.

Her search of the entire building went on for what felt like hours. Hancock did his best to be patient, but it was getting difficult hearing her stumble about the building, searching for something that wasn't there. More than once he heard her tumble down some stairs, but she would just curse angrily at either the stairs or her leg and continue onward. Hancock wondered if he should help, but figured it would be best not to get involved.

His mind started to wander as he waited. Hancock rested his head on his hand and he looked down at his boots. His legs were spread out on the chair, and he couldn't help but imagine a pretty little face between his legs. The thought of someone kneeling down between his knees, resting their head on his lap... He smirked, thinking that maybe while Nova searched the place, he might as well rub one out in the meantime. She sounded as though she was all the way on the other side of the building, he had time.

Loosening his belt, Hancock slipped a hand into his pants as he tried to imagine someone kneeling down between his legs. When was the last time he had someone do this for him? It'd been far too long. Usually, he was no stranger to having his lovers submit for him, it was his favorite thing to do, but recently he'd been so caught up in running Goodneighbor, he barely took any time to... Indulge. So, who was he gonna fantasize about today? Somebody with soft skin, long hair, green eyes...

Green eyes. "Shit..." He mumbled under his breath, his cock twitching in his hand. He'd actually found himself imagining the face of his friend. Not that this wasn't the first time her face popped in his head while his dick was hard, but being so close to her all the time, now, having her here with him... That was different. Though he had to admit, the intense look in her eyes really did something to him. Not to mention how she looked in that vault suit.

With a heavy sigh, he decided to indulge. What _would_ she look like on her knees? Nova, that little powerhouse now running around on just one leg. What would she look like as she crawled up to him, watching the curve of her ass as she approached? He grasped his dick tightly, running his hand up and down, feeling himself throb as he imagined her head between his legs. Those pretty little eyes of hers, staring up at him, with her long, dark eyelashes. He squeezed himself again, holding back a moan. Those damn lips of hers... Those plump lips, how they smirked and smiled, how she pouted at him... He undid his pants completely, pulling his dick out so it stood straight between his legs. How would those lips look, wrapped around his cock...

"They're not fucking here!" A harsh voice ripped Hancock from his fantasies, and he quickly stood up, adjusting himself back into his pants and trying hard not to seem like he was just jerking off to the thought of her. Nova came limping up to him, fire in her eyes, her hair falling wildly out of her hair tie.

"Thought you said you killed, like, an army of them?"

"We _did_!" Nova was furious now. She reached up and grabbed onto her hair with both hands. She grit her teeth, shutting her eyes tight, and then took a breath. Almost all at once, Nova calmed down, though her body still shook with rage. She was suppressing again, Hancock realized. That couldn't be good for her. "It was probably the institute," Nova said darkly. "They must have swept the place after Nick and I left. Not even Kellogg's body is here anymore, so it couldn't have been raiders..."

Hancock watched her. He saw her shoulders shaking, her hands clenched into fists, but her face had shown nothing. She was stunningly different from the girl he met back in Goodneighbor, who took one look at his face and couldn't hide her revulsion. Who smiled so brightly with too many teeth. The girl who was unable to keep a straight face with him whenever they spoke was now so utterly, completely destroyed that she had now shown nothing. He wanted to reach out, to touch her face, to let her lean into his chest and cry, but he couldn't. And to think, he'd just been touching himself to the thought of her when he should have been helping...

"You just can't seem to catch a break, can you?" Hancock said as his only offer of condolences.

"No, I really can't." She admits. "Come on, let's go back to Sanctuary. I'm... Gonna need to think of a new plan."

~

Nova ordered that they skip the roads and cut through the fields and forests to get to Sanctuary. She had insisted that this was the faster route, but watching her struggle over the uneven terrain, Hancock had to disagree. Still though, when she had her head set on something, nothing he said could back her out of it. He knew because he tried. With someone as stubborn as her, he might just have to get forceful if he needed to. The one good thing about avoiding the roads meant also avoiding the raiders. Their path was relatively quiet, save for the occasional radstag that ran by. Dogmeat enjoyed this route as well, taking his time to dig in the dirt and roll around in the grass as he followed.

"How'd you meet this mutt anyway?" Hancock asked as they walked together. There was one particularly steep slope, and he held Nova's hand to help steady her as she climbed.

"At the Red Rocket, actually," She answered, focusing on her feet. "I wandered through in search of other people shortly after I woke up, and he just kinda took to me. Can't tell you why, though. Hasn't left my side since."

"Good boy," Hancock muttered, looking over at the dog that had begun digging randomly into the ground. A loud clap of thunder echoed through the wasteland, and Nova looked over to see in the distance were some dark clouds, rain, and lightning striking the ground. She was curious, though, to see an odd green fog around the area, quickly approaching them.

"What kind of storm is that?" She asked, and Hancock brought his attention in the same direction.

"Ah shit, it's a radstorm." Hancock's grip on her hand grew tighter, and he tugged her along after him quickly. Nova watched as the green fog approached, and then heard the clicking on her Geiger counter pick up. Ah, so that's what he meant. Suddenly, lightning struck the ground nearby, leaving a scorched scar in the earth.

"What the fuck?" Nova said, bewildered at the odd weather. She tried to hurry along the best as she could, but it was difficult on her rusted prosthetic. The rain caught up with them soon enough, and Nova was surprised when she felt her skin burn as the water hit her.

"Shit-" Hancock cursed when the rain hit. Quickly, he took off his hat and thrust it upon her head, and then draped his jacket over Nova's shoulders to keep her dry from the acid rain. Luckily, in the distance, a small circle of farmhouses could be seen, and they booked it over towards them.

They were lucky to find a house with an intact roof. Taking cover inside, Nova couldn't help but look out the window at the storm. It was far different than anything she would have expected in a world ravaged by nuclear war. Back before the war, everyone theorized that the world would be sent into some neverending winter. But, here we are, in the middle of a cool autumn in Boston, hiding from acid rain and radiation seeping in through the floorboards. Dogmeat ran into the house after them, shaking his body dry.

"Thanks," Nova took the tricorn hat off and handed it back to Hancock, who simply took it from her hands and looked her up and down.

"You know, you don't look half bad in red,"

"Sometimes I think _you're_ the dog." Nova rolled her eyes at him. She shrugged off her coat and handed it over, but he simply threw his hat and coat on one of the old, dusty beds inside the farmhouse.

"We're gonna have to wait this out," Hancock explained. "Unless you wanna end up looking like me, that is."

"I have nothing against Ghouls, but, I have no desire to live forever." Nova took a seat on the other bed inside the cabin and let her head fall into her hands. She rubbed her eyes, feeling the tiredness start to weigh on her. Dogmeat walked over and hopped up onto the bed, lying down and curling up around Nova to cuddle with her.

Hancock took this time to search the cabin, looking for whatever treasures he could find that were left behind by the original owners. But, he stopped when he looked over and saw Nova sitting there looking so pathetic. He wanted to do something for her to make her feel better. But it wasn't like he could push chems on her, not when she was already struggling to come to terms with her Med-X use. It also probably would be a bad idea to just go up to her and say "Hey I know you're stressed, let me fuck all your problems away!". No, that would be a bad idea.

He searched through a bookcase as he thought to himself, as sometimes he would find goodies hidden behind rows of books. As he was paging through, he found a card that looked still somewhat legible. It read, "So sorry for your loss." A condolences card. Suddenly, a thought struck him, causing Hancock to smile like an idiot. He took the card over to where he threw his jacket and snickered to himself as he snatched up a pen from one of his pockets. Nova was curious about the scene he was making, and walked over to him curiously.

Hancock scribbled over the card hastily, and then turned around to Nova. "Here, for you." He couldn't contain his smile as he handed the card down into Nova's waiting hands.

Nova raised an eyebrow at him curiously and cautiously took the card. When she looked at it, the card now said "So sorry ~~for your loss~~ you saw my dick. -Hancock." Nova's mouth fell open as she read the card over again, looked up at him and back to the card, and then burst into a fit of uncontrollable, snorting laughter. Hancock couldn't help his grin as he felt so successful in making her laugh. Though Nova just kept laughing and laughing, she nearly dropped the card. She bent over, tears streaming from her eyes, and Hancock put a hand on her back to help steady her. As he did, she leaned her body into his, her entire weight seeming to push him back onto the bed. She fell into his lap, still laughing, and he wrapped his arms around her waist to keep her upright.

In time, Hancock's smile faded when he noticed the tears had not stopped falling from Nova's eyes, and her laughs morphed into choking sobs. What had gone from a jovial moment turned into an overwhelming eruption of emotion, one that could not be stopped. He didn't push her away, and instead let her bury her face into his neck, crying helplessly into his shirt. He held her tight, refusing to let her go.

~

By nightfall, the radstorm had passed, and the rain had become safe to trek through again. Nova agreed to keep going, all she wanted to do was get back to Sanctuary and back to her garage. Luckily, the rest of the way was quite enough. They arrived at dawn and the first thing Nova did when they got back was find Preston and check on the settlement. The utter shock everyone had when they saw Nova after she got her leg chopped off was deafening.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry," Preston said after Nova had explained what happened. "I knew you were injured, but I didn't know how bad. I should have done more to help."

"It's alright, Preston, there's not much anyone could have done." Nova placed a hand on his arm, giving him a tired smile.

"Well, I'm just glad to see you're alright. For the most part, that is. Things have been going well here, our farm has been growing, and one of the other settlers you brought back here gave birth to a healthy baby boy."

"That's good to hear."

Preston went over some concerns that Sanctuary had, and Nova helped talk him through it. Flower had come out from one of the houses she had been sleeping in, and greeted Nova warmly. Of course, she too was shocked to see Nova's missing leg, and Preston promised to fill her in on the details later. After making sure the settlement had enough food and water to get by, Nova took her leave, heading over the bridge towards the Red Rocket truck stop that she called her new home.

"You doin' alright?" Hancock checked in with her once they got inside. He took off his hat, tipping it over to let the rainwater drip out.

"As alright as I can be right now," Nova said, kicking off her one boot. "I'm gonna go change. I have some extra clothes for you, too."

"That'd be swell." He said, full of sarcasm, dripping wet.

After some time, Nova had changed back into her shorts and tank top, and Hancock secretly both hated and loved her for it. She loaned him a pair of jeans, which he gladly took while their clothes dried. They had been freezing because of the rain, but Nova had a makeshift fireplace going in the truckstop, and she closed the garage door to trap in the heat, making it just comfortable enough for them.

"So, what's the plan, boss?" Hancock asked as he lounged back onto the couch, arms spread out wide as he watched Nova walk about the truckstop, eyes fixated on her ass.

"Right now, the plan is, I fix up myself a new leg. Get that in well enough working order, and then we go back to trying to find my son." On her travels, Nova had managed to find a couple of cans of dog food, so she tossed some into a bowl for Dogmeat to have. She grabbed herself some carrots and a can of beans and plopped herself down onto the couch next to Hancock.

"Ole' Nick came back with me to Goodneighbor after you woke up," Hancock said, opening his arm for Nova to lean against his chest. He let his arm hang over her shoulder, apparently, the cuddling became normal between the two at some point and he didn't even realize it. "He went and talked with Amari about what you both saw in that memory machine."

"It was real weird in there," Nova said with a mouth full of beans. "Twice we accidentally jumped into a shared memory between Nick and I. And, I actually got to see what my son looks like..."

"I know," Hancock interrupted. "Doc had the whole thing playing out on a screen for the two of us to watch." Nova looked back at him, watching him silently before she went back to her food. "Said somethin' about a rogue scientist from the institute, I don't remember. He never exactly explained it to me. If you got a radio, I'll send word for him to meet us up here."

"Yeah, I found one. I'll fix it up for you." Nova stared down into her empty tin of beans. She looked as if she was thinking hard of something, trying her best to hide it on her face, but it wasn't quite working now. "I'm not a bother to you, am I?"

That question caught him off guard. "Now what makes you say that?"

"Just, for crying and all. And being all touchy-feely when I know I shouldn't," Nova attempted to lift herself off of him, only to be met with Hancock's arm pulling her back down into his bare chest.

"Hey, I'm not complaining."

"Is this the reason why you keep flirting with me?" Nova asked, leaning her head on his shoulder, making herself comfortable as they listened to the rain.

"One of them," He joked, and Nova laughed.

"I don't mind, though sometimes you sound like you're being serious." She chuckled, and Hancock didn't respond. How the hell was he supposed to tell her he _was_ being serious?

With a big yawn, Nova sat up and started tapping away at her pipboy. "Alright, better get to work."

"Sure you don't wanna take a break?"

"I already wasted enough time as it is." She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and stood, walking over to an old, broken refrigerator she had yet to repair. She pulled out a soda and popped the cap off, stuffing it into her pocket before quickly drinking down the liquid, savoring the caffeine that came with it. "I'll get that radio working for you. The sooner we get the ball rolling, the better."

Hancock looked over at Nova form where he lay on the couch. He found himself admiring her determination, or stubbornness as some would call it.

"Sure thing, boss."

~

Hancock's role in helping Nova was more passive than anything. The next few days were spent helping her out in the garage as she worked on making herself a new prosthetic leg. One that wouldn't fall off so easily this time. Nova had fixed the radio, and they had sent word for Nick Valentine to join them up at Sanctuary to go over the details of what to do next to find Shaun. Nova counted herself so incredibly lucky to have Nick and Hancock by her side. If she hadn't found them when she woke from the vault, Nova wouldn't know what she would have done.

Nova continued to play the songs she found off the holotape she had repaired. Hancock had never heard most of them, but Nova was more than happy to tell him about the pre-war musicians and the music she used to listen to. He enjoyed letting her ramble, as the world before had fascinated him. Though the only time he ever got to hear about it was from the old pre-war Ghouls that most of the time had their memories clouded by chems. He was glad to hear it from someone with such fresh eyes.

Not only did Hancock learn about the world Nova had come from, but he also learned about her. She had told him about where she was born, the island of Puerto Rico. She had grown up poor and starving, which Hancock could relate to. She told him that she had an older brother growing up, but he died young due to a drug overdose. She explained that she should have known better because of her brother's death, but she also had trouble with drug addiction at a very early age. It would be years before she kicked the habit and joined the US army.

That's where she learned most of the stuff she used to survive in the wastelands now. The army trained her, sharpened her body and mind, and that was where she took her first life when she was deployed. It wouldn't be long after that she met her husband, Nate. Hancock had felt a tightness in his chest whenever she would bring up her late husband. He had a theory as to why but refused to admit it to himself. Nova explained that she and Nate married shortly after they met, and using the money they got from being in service, Nova went to law school. What he liked most was her stories about helping underprivileged families when they would get targeted for little reason. Even back then, before the bombs were dropped, the power struggle between the rich and poor was devastating.

Of course, after Nova had opened up about herself, Hancock couldn't help but reciprocate. He explained about his own childhood, where he grew up and what it was like for his family. He revealed that his own brother was Mayor McDonough of Diamond City. He told her about what happened to the Ghouls, what made him change his life, and how he became who he was today. It was hard to be truthful, telling her about how he spent his entire life running away from his past, but for some reason he wanted her to know. He wanted someone to truly know him, to understand what he went through, what he's still going through. If anyone could understand, it would have to be her.

"That's real fuckin' heavy," Nova said to Hancock. They were sitting together on the floor of the garage while he poured his heart out to her. Hancock hadn't even realized he'd been ranting about his brother, how horrific it had been when those innocent Ghouls were murdered.

He scoffed, holding Nova's prosthetic leg straight while she worked on it. "You're damn right it was. Folks in Diamond City signed their death warrants and all the good people were willing to sit by and watch." He said as Nova took her leg from him, finished with the modifications she was making. "I felt like I was the only one who saw how screwed up things truly were, who couldn't just pretend things were fine." Nova gave him an empathetic look as she reattached her leg to her body. "Still feel that way... or I did. Until I met you."

Nova bit her lip and looked up at him, unsure of what to say, but smiled. They both looked down as she flexed her upgraded leg. She had reworked the joint in the knee and gave herself actual padding at the bottom to mimic a foot instead of just having a baseball buffer. It was heavy as all sin, but it worked, and she was almost as mobile as she was before. Nova pulled a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of the flannel shirt she had thrown over her tank top. It was another surprisingly warm day for fall, so they had the doors open to let the cool wind blow in to air out the garage.

Taking a cigarette from the pack, Hancock couldn't help but stare down at her. "I know I run my mouth," He said though the cigarette clenched in his teeth. "but having someone who sees the world for what it is and is willing to do something about it... It's meant a lot to me. I feel damn lucky to have you as a friend."

They locked eyes, and Nova felt her heart skip. She wanted to tell him she felt lucky to have him in her life too, to properly thank him for everything he's done for her. She wanted to tell him how she really felt, but there was no way she could put it into words. She really should have kept quiet then, but she spoke up against her better judgment.

"And that's what we are? Friends?" Nova asked, her voice laced with suggestion. She had considered all the time they spent together, every intimate moment and casual touch. Displays of affection that they shared were uncommon back in her time, and she truly enjoyed having someone like him she could feel against her. But deep down, did she want more? Even more so, would she even let herself have more?

Hancock's eyebrows raised at her comment, and he let out a low chuckle. "Well, now that you mention it..." He leaned over to her, getting dangerously close to her face. "I have been having slightly more impure thoughts than usual." He didn't know why he was admitting this to her, but they were both feeling risky at the moment apparently. "Maybe we'll get to... act on those."

Nova felt her face grow hot. "John Hancock, you stop teasing me or I swear I will put this out on your chin." Nova hid her mouth behind her hand and held her cigarette out in a threatening manner. He met her empty threats with a short chuckle and playfully knocked her hand away from him.

"First off, what if I like teasing you? I like seein' those little faces you make." He could only grin when Nova felt herself get more embarrassed. "And second what makes you so sure I wouldn't be into it?" 

"I should remind you that I'm a married woman."

"I won't tell if you don't."

Nova looked over at Hancock and stared at him. Her eyes traveled between his, and then searched his face. She studied him, weighing her options in her mind but not saying a word out loud. Her face revealed an array of emotions, from puzzled to curious, to sad and sorrowful, to inquisitive and maybe hopeful? Hancock was dying inside as he waited for her to say something, anything, but he didn't dare his nervousness show. That was one thing he always had above Nova, was his ability to hide how he was truly feeling. But now, when he lay his entire life down in front of her, suggested at maybe the possibility of there being more between the two of them... He was nervous.

This damn little vault dweller, a woman out of her own time. A fiery little powerhouse that had a habit of taking on those well beyond her weight class and dragging herself out of battles scraped, bloody, bruised, and missing a few limbs. A woman who knew how to take apart power suits and put them back together, to build herself a whole new leg using the scraps she found in her garage... The kind of woman who could get his dick hard with a single glance, and kept him coming back for more every time she sent him away. For the first time in his life, Hancock was running towards something instead of away. She was his kind of girl.

Not that he'd ever admit that to her.

"You gonna say something, or are you just lost in my eyes?" Hancock spoke to break the tension. He flicked the cigarette in his fingers, letting the ashes pile up on the concrete between them.

That's when she surprised him. Nova reached out and took Hancock's hand, her thumb tracing over his broken and scarred skin gently before pulling it up towards her mouth. She pressed her lips into his knuckle, warm and sweet, letting herself linger a good long time before pulling away. She gave him an actual, genuine smile as she looked up at him, and he was speechless.

"Thanks," She said simply. "For everything." A tight knot appeared in Hancock's throat, and he swallowed hard to get it to go away. "Help me up?" Nova asked, and Hancock jumped to his feet to oblige her.

Pulling Nova to her feet, Hancock kept a hand on her back to help steady herself on her new leg. Nova chewed on the inside of her cheek as she desperately attempted to adjust to the new weight.

"I think I got it," Nova insisted, pushing Hancock away from her. Taking a step forward, she immediately fell, having to be caught by Hancock to help her back upright.

"You don't got it,"

"Yeah I fucking know that, thanks." She spat. Nova reached down to grab a wrench, loosening a nut on the joint, and then tossing the took back into its box. She took another, slower, step forward, and it worked out much better this time. She gave Hancock a smug look, and he simply stood back with his hands on his hips.

"You look about ready to take on another horde of super mutants," Hancock mused.

"Oh yeah? Watch me."


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dunno if I'll be updating this story again for a while. I always have a habit of working on too many projects at once. Sorry this one is so short.

It was cold outside, so Hancock made himself comfortable on the couch inside the Red Rocket, flipping through a magazine Nova had found. He wasn't too particularly enthralled by it, but it provided enough of a distraction from the throbbing pain in his back. Last he saw Nova, she was working on something in the garage and lost track of how much time had passed. Hearing someone shuffling around nearby, he looked up only to notice how dark it had gotten.

Hancock tossed the magazine onto the couch and sat up, pulling a tin of mentats out of his jacket and tossing a few under his tongue. It had been a habit by now, to the point where he didn't even realize he was doing it half the time. He was considering mixing his high with some jet when footsteps caught his attention. Soft footsteps, like bare feet on tile.

Out from the doorway of the bedroom walked Nova, wearing nothing but a smile on her face. Hancock's heart stopped. He looked at her body, fully nude and on display just for him. He wanted to say something, to question her, but when he opened his mouth, no sound came out. Nova made the motion of zipping up her lips, ordering him to be quiet as she then walked towards him. Her movements were slow as she sauntered up to him, letting the image of her body be burned into the backs of his eyes. Nova reached out with her hands, touching either side of his face, letting her fingers roam over his skin.

Hancock's brain was short-circuiting. Could this even be real? It sure as hell felt real when her hands traveled down his neck, lacing into the fringes of his shirt, unbuttoning it all the way. Nova wordlessly climbed into his lap, draping her shapely legs over him, only his pants separating his throbbing cock from her wanting heat. He hadn't moved the entire time she was on him, too stunned to touch her back, convinced she would be revolted the moment he did. Instead, though, Nova ran her hands down his arms, reaching for his hands, and then bringing them to her hips. His fingers reflexively squeezed her, feeling her soft skin, how pliable she was between his fingers. God, she was everything she could have imagined and so much more.

Nova leaned forward, her lips barely grazing against his ear as she whispered, "Touch me..." Her order sent his head spinning. He touched her everywhere, his hands sliding up to grab her breasts, squeezing them tight in his hands. A moan escaped her lips, her hot breath on his face making his dick weep. His hands slid down to grab her ass, pulling her tightly against his lap as he ground his hips up into her. She was intoxicating, and he would gladly lose himself in her.

his hands trailed down each of her legs, feeling her soft skin. Something ate away at the back of his mind, though, as he trailed his fingers along the skin of both of her legs. His mind was ripped from his thoughts, though, when he felt Nova's lips press gently into his cheek. A groan escaped his mouth, and he turned his head to try desperately to capture her lips into his.

Nova pulled away from his mouth, making him groan in frustration. "Hancock..." She whispered, and he felt himself melt as she said his name. "Hancock," Nova said again, her voice echoing in his brain.

~

"Hancock,"

He opened his eyes, staring up at the harsh white lights on the ceiling of the truck stop.

"Hey, you alright? You looked like you were having a nightmare." Nova spoke softly to him. She was kneeling down on the floor next to him. He must have fallen asleep at some point because he was lying back on the couch, his hat placed on the nearby table.

He lifted his head, looking up at the worried face of the fully clothed Nova. Was it even possible to hate someone so much after just having such an intensely vivid sex dream about them? He threw his arm up and over his eyes, shielding them from the artificial lights.

"I'm good," Hancock muttered into his arm.

"You sure?"

"Yup, I'm fine." He spoke rather shortly, and Nova only grunted in response. She must have taken the hint that he wanted to be left alone, because she got up and went back into the garage. Hancock peeked out from underneath his arm and wished he hadn't, feeling his head throb. He seriously had to get himself under control around her. He shot a careful glance down to his waist, making sure it wasn't too obvious that he was as hard as a fucking rock. Luckily, his dick was pressed tightly against his leg, no visible evidence of his shame whatsoever.

Hancock sat up, his entire body cracking, joints popping as he stretched. He wasn't sure how long he had been asleep for, but outside it was bright and sunny, and Nova looked like she'd been up for a while. She was making some sort of racket in the garage, given up working on her leg and turned towards enhancing the power armor she had. She'd been managing pretty well on her own, so he didn't feel the need to hover by her side to catch her if she fell. She was capable enough to pick herself back up, now that she had two legs to stand on.

Hancock stumbled his way over to the bathroom if he could even call it that. It was mainly just an area walled off by sheet metal with a broken bathtub and a paint bucket with a broken toilet seat over it. Still, though, it was better built than most of the places in the Commonwealth. He opened the medicine cabinet Nova had mounted on the wall, searching through it for Med-x, Jet, Mentats, anything to take the edge off his pounding head.

As Hancock leaned on the old dirty sink, crunching pills between his teeth, he heard the music start to drift out from the garage. Nova could be heard singing along to the music while she worked, stumbling over the words every once in a while as she focused more on her work than the actual music. It was nice, really, hearing her sing like that. She wasn't Magnolia, but her voice still sounded nice.

Hey, maybe this wasn't all so bad.

The next song on the holotape had started, and Nova let out such a frantic gasp that Hancock nearly fell over himself trying to get to the garage to make sure she was alright.

"Do you know what this song is?" Nova asked when Hancock popped his head into the garage. She took off a welding mask and tossed it to the ground, taking a rather uneven step towards him.

"Uh, no." He said flatly, crossing his arms and leaning on the doorway. He was pissed at her for making him worry, but he wasn't gonna let that show.

"God, how do you not know fucking Careless Whisper?" Nova threw her hands up into the air, over-exaggerating her exasperation. "This song is, what my grandma used to call, a fucking Bop."

"Your grandma sounds like a weirdo."

"Oh trust me, she was." Nova gave him a wink. That song must have sent her into a good mood, because she started swaying her hips to the music, singing along. Hancock had to admit, she looked like an idiot trying to dance on those legs of hers, but he wasn't about to stop her. Instead, he held back a laugh as she spun around, singing along to the song.

Dogmeat, hearing the commotion, trotted up to them from outside, tilting his head curiously as he watched Nova spin around in circles. "C'mere boy," Nova held out her arms to him. Dogmeat happily went to her, panting as Nova scratched the fur along his neck. Then, she reached down and carefully grabbed his paws, letting him stand up on his back legs as she held him. Hancock let out a laugh as Nova swayed back and forth, dancing with Dogmeat, singing at him. This seemed to be easier, just swaying with the dog seemed to be easier on her legs than the way she was before. Dogmeat tapped around on his back feet, trying to sway with her as she danced.

Feeling bold, Hancock walked up to Nova, sliding his hand down her arm to grab hers. She looked up at him with her large eyes and smirked. Instead of giving him her own hand, she dropped Dogmeat's paws into his arms. Hancock chuckled at this move but wanted to make his intentions clear. He let Dogmeat down, who trotted around the two of them happily and then took Nova's hands in his own, pulling her close to him.

Nova let out a laugh, snorting as she did, her face growing hot from the embarrassment. Now, Hancock wasn't that great of a dancer either, but neither of them really cared. Leaning on him was much better, and he led the steps as they clumsily danced along to the music. Nova couldn't keep singing along to the song because she was laughing so hard, and Hancock loved that.

He warned her before he did, but he took a step back and pulled Nova's arm over her head, spinning her around in place. She let out another laugh as she snorted, and fell forward into his chest when she turned back around. They swayed back and forth as Nova regained her footing, and then it was her turn to spin him around in place. Of course, Hancock had to duck down under her arm as she did.

Pulling his arm tightly around Nova's waist, Hancock leaned forward and dipped her backward. She leaned back, trusting him completely not to let her fall, and her head fell back as well. As she was upside down, Nova spotted someone familiar walking up to the truckstop from outside.

"Nick!" She called out to him, and Hancock picked her back up and helped right her before she went out to greet him.

"Well, you seem to be in better spirits from the last time I saw you." Nick Valentine strolled up, taking a good long look at her, and then to Hancock who stood back in the garage.

"I'm making do." She said, tucking her thumbs into the pockets of her shorts. "Thanks for meeting us here. Did the road give you trouble?"

"Not any more than usual," Nick walked closer to Nova, looking down at her prosthetic. "Mind if I take a look at that?"

"Sure, have at."

Nova shifted her weight onto her foot, holding her newly constructed leg out for Nick to inspect. "Nice work you did here. Think it'll hold up?"

"It's gonna have to." Nova pulled her leg away, standing tall. "Come on inside, let's talk business."

~

Nova had put together a small diner booth in the corner of the truck stop, giving the three of them somewhere to sit face to face. Nick and Hancock sat across from one another while Nova left to get herself a beer. Sure it was still early in the morning, but neither of them were judging her for it. As she climbed a small ladder to the top of the bookshelf where she kept the good alcohol, Hancock leaned back in his seat and just watched her from across the room. Though, he kept getting distracted from the looks Nick was giving him.

"Didn't think the two of you were together," Nick spoke quietly to Hancock, not wanting to let Nova know they were talking about her. "I'm gonna be honest here, I'm kinda surprised."

"What, you jealous Nick?" Hancock crossed his arms, unable to hide his smirk.

"You know I'm not."

"Yeah, yeah, sure. But, unfortunately, you're wrong. There's no way she'd be into a guy like me."

Nick eyed him curiously. "You sure about that?"

Nova had walked up to the booth where the two were sitting. She had a beer in hand and a cap in the other, holding it out towards Hancock. "I'll pay you a cap to scoot over," She offered. Hancock snatched the cap out of her hand but didn't move. So, in retaliation, she physically pushed him out of her way, sliding down into the booth next to him.

"Alright," Nick started, resting his arms on the diner table, leaning forward. "How much do you know about the glowing sea?"

"Absolutely nothing," Nova answered.

"Well, let me tell you, the name isn't as pleasant as it sounds. The glowing sea is called that for one reason: radiation. So much of it that almost nothing can live in there. It'd kill a man in seconds."

"So, why are you telling me this? What's in there?"

"The person you're looking for." Nick Valentine reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a few folded pieces of paper. He unfolded them and slid them across the table for Nova to read. Her eyes skimmed over the words, her eyebrows raising at the information. "Kellogg was instructed to hunt down the scientist Dr. Brian Virgil. Here's all the information on him I could find."

"This is almost nothing," Nova said, trying not to sound defeated. "Studied bioscience... One of the top researchers in the Institute... Last known location, the glowing sea..." She started chewing on the inside of her cheek.

"So, that's where you're headed next," Nick said. "He should be able to give us enough info on how to get into the Institute. It'll be dangerous, though. Stepping foot in the glowing sea without any sort of radiation protection would turn you into a Ghoul at best, and kill you at worst. But, an old suit of power armor might just be the guardian angel you're looking for. And if I'm not mistaken, I think I spotted one in that garage of yours while you were dancing your hearts out."

"You're right!" Nova sat back and took a drink from her beer, trying to process all of the information she was given. "Though, I only got the one set..." She looked concerned, convinced she would have to leave her friends behind and go in alone.

"Listen, I'm a synth, so radiation isn't much of an issue for me," Nick said. "You don't have to do this alone."

"I ain't worried either," Hancock spoke up, slipping his hand behind Nova's back, casually running his fingers along her skin underneath her shirt. "At this point, the radiation would only make me _more_ handsome."

Nova looked between the two men at the table, relief washing over her as she realized she wouldn't, in fact, be alone. She chewed on the inside of her cheek, mulling over her options, thinking about where to go from there. Nova then threw her head back, finishing her beer in just a few gulps, and slammed the bottle down onto the table. Clearing her throat, she looked up at the two men.

"I want both of you to come with me." It was more of an order than a request, but she still gave them the option of backing out.

"I already told Ellie to hold all my cases for me," Nick said. "So I'm ready to go when you are."

"Don't you worry about me," Hancock smirked. "I always got your back. So, when are we headed out?"

"Give me until tomorrow. I wanna modify the power armor a bit before we go." Nova looked over and saw Dogmeat lying on the couch nearby, staring at her. When she made eye contact with him, his tail started wagging, and she felt a sharp pain in her heart.


End file.
